John Thune says 'all the options' are on the table for Trump's provocative Cabinet picks



While President-elect Donald Trump has spent the last few days publicizing his provocative Cabinet nominations, newly elected Senate GOP leader John Thune said that "all the options" are on the table for their confirmation process.

Trump's Cabinet nominations have sparked a slew of controversies. Most notably, Trump nominated former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Department of Health and Human Services as well as Republican former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general.

"We're gonna work with him to see that he gets his team installed as quickly as possible so he can implement his agenda," Thune said in a Fox News interview Thursday.

'But we also are not going to allow the Democrats to obstruct or block President Trump and the will of the American people,' Thune said.

"All these nominees are, it's a, you know, advise and consent," Thune continued. "That's the Senate's constitutional role when it comes to confirmation of nominations to the executive branch of government, and we take that role seriously."

Over the weekend, Trump demanded that the three Senate GOP hopefuls publicly support recess appointments. With recess appointments, the incoming Trump administration would be able to appoint nominees to federal positions without the Senate's approval.

Otherwise, all nominations would need to be approved by the Senate with a simple majority. Since Republicans will hold 53 seats, and with Vice President-elect JD Vance working as a tiebreaker, each candidate will be able to lose only three Republican votes and still be confirmed.

"But we also are not going to allow the Democrats to obstruct or block President Trump and the will of the American people," Thune said.

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Thune works to smooth out rocky relationship with Trump



Newly elected Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune has made efforts to override his past comments criticizing President-elect Donald Trump, vowing to work alongside him.

Thune defeated Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida on Wednesday in the race to replace retiring Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Although Thune has emphatically promised to work alongside Trump in his newfound role, he has not always been so enthusiastic.

Despite this, Thune insisted that there was 'no daylight' between him and Trump just hours before he narrowly won his leadership position.

Thune had called for Trump to drop out of the 2016 race following the release of the Billy Bush tape, saying, "Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.

Thune was also asked in a 2022 interview whether he would support Trump as the Republican nominee in 2024.

"I hope we have other options," Thune responded. "And I think we will have other options."

However, the jabs have gone both ways. The two also butted heads when Thune refused to block the certification of the 2020 election, prompting Trump to call him a "RINO" and "Mitch's boy," referencing his relationship with McConnell.

Even going into the congressional GOP leadership elections, Thune repeatedly urged Trump to stay out of the issue of the leadership election. Despite this, Thune insisted that there was "no daylight" between him and Trump just hours before he narrowly won his leadership position.

"The American people have loudly rejected the failed policies of the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda," Thune said in a press conference following his leadership victory. "This Republican team is united. We are on one team. We are excited to reclaim the majority and get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump's agenda."

"We have a mandate from the American people," Thune continued. "A mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda, but also to deliver on President Trump's priorities."

Along with implementing Trump's agenda, Thune had previously agreed to the president-elect's demand to allow recess appointments.

"We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, & all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments," Thune said in an X post from Sunday. "We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people."

Since then, Trump has made some bombshell Cabinet nominations. Most notably, Trump nominated Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) for attorney general, which sparked an onslaught of online hysteria, as well as hesitation from some Republican lawmakers.

Thune's office did not directly comment on whether the senator would work with Trump to ensure Gaetz's confirmation. Rather, Blaze News was redirected to Thune's earlier press conference in which he vowed to "enact President Trump's agenda."

In a confirmation battle after the incoming Senate class takes office on January 2, Gaetz can afford to lose only three Republican votes.

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John Thune elected to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader



The Republican Senate conference elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota on Wednesday to succeed retiring Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Thune, who was running against Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida, won with 29 of the 53 Republican Senate votes in the second round of votes cast via secret ballot.

Scott also became the focal point of an online pressure campaign over the weekend, with prominent personalities like Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and Glenn Beck expressing support for the MAGA ally.

"I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House," Thune said in a statement Wednesday. "This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda, and our work starts today."

Scott was eliminated in the first round, bringing in just 13 votes, while Cornyn held 15 and Thune won 23. Scott's votes mostly went to Cornyn in the second round, who won 24 votes, while Thune secured 29.

Leading up to the race, Scott was the most publicly endorsed candidate.

In the past 24 hours, Scott secured three last-minute endorsements from Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Mike Lee of Utah. Scott had also been endorsed by GOP Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Scott also became the focal point of an online pressure campaign over the weekend, with prominent personalities like Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, and Glenn Beck expressing support for the MAGA ally.

Thune was backed by Republican Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. Cornyn had just one public endorsement, from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

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Rick Scott, gunning to replace McConnell, secures bombshell last-minute endorsement from key Republican senator



Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida secured an endorsement from political heavyweights just moments before the GOP Senate conference is set to vote for a new leader.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee in making a last-minute endorsement for Scott. Scott has also been endorsed by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

"This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago," Cruz said in an X post ahead of the vote. "In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again. For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will."

'Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters.'

Scott is running alongside Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas in the race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Of the three candidates, Scott has the most public endorsements.

Lee hosted a forum Tuesday night ahead of the Wednesday morning leadership vote in order to give all three candidates the opportunity to make their final pitch to the Republican conference.

"While I personally like all three leadership candidates and consider them friends—and while each offers a unique set of skills, experience, and plans that could prove useful to the Senate and the American people—Rick Scott stands out as the most aggressively reform-minded candidate," Lee said in an X post after the forum.

"Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters," Lee continued.

Lee also praised Scott for standing up to McConnell in the past, contrasting with Thune and Cornyn, who better fit the leadership mold.

"Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past—even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him," Lee said after the forum. "This is yet another reason to support him."

The votes are set to begin Wednesday morning and will be conducted via secret ballot.

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Sen. Warren wants to cram judicial confirmations before Trump presidency. Here's how GOP leader hopefuls responded.



Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts recently made a push to use "every minute" of the legislative session between now and President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration to confirm dozens of federal judges. Here is what Republican Senate leadership hopefuls had to say.

Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, John Thune of South Dakota, and John Cornyn of Texas are all vying to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who announced earlier this year that he would retire as the GOP leader following the election.

When asked if they would allow Warren's Hail Mary confirmation blitz to go through the Senate, Scott had the most blunt response of the three senators.

After Trump won the election and Republicans secured their Senate majority, flipping Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Montana, Warren posted about a "path forward" on social media, which included her pitch to cram last-minute federal confirmations.

"And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators—none of whom can be removed by the next President," Warren said.

Republican leadership hopefuls provided varying responses to Warren's attempts to circumvent the incoming GOP government.

When asked if they would allow Warren's Hail Mary confirmation blitz to go through the Senate, Scott had the most blunt response of the three senators.

"Absolutely not," Scott told Blaze News.

Cornyn's response was less direct. When Blaze News reached out to his office for a comment, we were pointed to a quote Cornyn gave the New York Times back in September.

When the NYT asked about an end-of-year sprint from Democrats to confirm federal judges, Cornyn said, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"I don't see a lot of time for judges and I don't see why we would make it easy for them," Cornyn continued.

Thune, who has been critical of Trump over the years, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Josh Hawley makes surprising endorsement for McConnell successor



Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri announced his support for Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Friday in the race to replace Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. At this point, this is the first public endorsement for Cornyn.

Cornyn is running to succeed McConnell alongside Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and John Thune of South Dakota.

"I'm backing John Cornyn for majority leader," Hawley said in a statement. "In the last two years, nobody has done more to win back the majority than he has."

Hawley also said Cornyn would 'work closely and effectively with President Trump to deliver on the promise of our new majority.'

"He tirelessly raised millions of dollars for competitive Senate races including mine," Hawley added.

Fundraising has been a focal point for the respective senators vying for the leadership position, given McConnell's extensive fundraising power.

On Friday, Cornyn announced that he raised nearly $33 million this election cycle in support of Republican candidates, bringing his fundraising total over the course of his career to nearly $415 million.

Hawley also cited policy alignment as a reason for supporting Cornyn.

“He has voiced his support for the RECA compromise that would fairly compensate hundreds of thousands of Americans poisoned by their government, including so many in Missouri,” Hawley said.

Hawley also said Cornyn would "work closely and effectively with President Trump to deliver on the promise of our new majority."

Republicans regained their Senate majority this cycle, flipping seats in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Montana. While the Nevada and Arizona Senate races are still being counted, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats hold 48.

Amid the newfound majority, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah will be moderating a forum for the Senate leadership hopefuls on Tuesday, the night before the conference will cast votes for McConnell's successor.

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