Senate GOP to Choose Majority Leader, House Inches to GOP Control
Republicans not only won the White House in the general election, they took control of the U.S. Senate, and appear on track to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives with some races still counting ballots.
In the Senate, Republicans flipped four seats (West Virginia, Ohio, Montana, and Pennsylvania), giving the GOP a 53 to 47 seat margin.
Senate Republicans will select the majority leader for the upcoming Congress Wednesday in a secret ballot. That leader will replace outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has led the caucus for nearly two decades.
President-elect Trump asked the three declared candidates to allow him to make recess appointments, which allow for positions to be filled without formal senate confirmation.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” President-elect Trump posted on X on Sunday. “Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”
The three candidates, Senators John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rick Scott (R-FL) all appeared amenable, with Scott immediately embracing the request while the others were more circumspect.
Senator Thune, the current minority whip, is considered the frontrunner although the bulk of GOP senators have not announced who they’re voting for.
Senator Scott is seeking support from the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican party and has received the endorsement of Trump’s billionaire confidant Elon Musk.
“They know I have a great relationship with Trump and the speaker of the House, and I am a business guy. And I will get the Trump agenda done,” said Senator Scott.
Senator Cornyn is one of the Senate’s top Republican fundraisers, pulling in nearly $33 million in the 2024 election cycle.
House Appears Headed to GOP Control
The fate of the House of Representatives is still up in the air, although Republicans are inching closer to keeping their slim majority. The current tally is 214 to 205, with Republicans picking up one seat, and inching closer to the magic number of 218 for the majority.
There are about a dozen races still pending, about half of those in California. Other tight races are in districts in Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Alaska, and Arizona.
Keeping House control would give Republicans a clean sweep of the executive and legislative branches, and in theory, make it much easier for the Trump Administration to enact its agenda with minimal oversight.
