Trump Allies Push Him to Block Thune From Becoming Senate G.O.P. Leader

Trump Allies Push Him to Block Thune From Becoming Senate G.O.P. Leader

Advisers to the president-elect, who already has a strong hold on congressional Republicans, want him to tighten his grip by torpedoing the bid of the establishment front-runner for the post.

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By Maggie HabermanLuke Broadwater and Jonathan Swan

Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s closest allies are privately counseling him to try to block a onetime Republican nemesis from becoming the Senate majority leader, pushing him to impose his will more forcefully on an already compliant G.O.P. Congress.

Those advisers believe Mr. Trump should stop Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, from winning the top post, according to people familiar with the talks. One person close to the president-elect noted that he had not weighed in on the race.

Doing so would be an extraordinary move even for Mr. Trump, who during his first term and since he has left office has had an iron grip on congressional Republicans. He has demanded and almost always received loyalty from them on matters of policy and personnel.

Mr. Thune, an establishment Republican who is reviled by some on the MAGA right, is competing for the position against Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida. Republican senators and senators-elect are set to vote by secret ballot on Wednesday.

Intervening in an internal leadership struggle among G.O.P. senators, who have at times been more resistant to the former president’s dictates and where members are fiercely protective of their independence, would signal Mr. Trump’s determination to dominate the legislative branch in his second term. The majority leader controls the Senate floor, including what proposals and nominees receive votes, and when.

Mr. Trump has already indicated his desire to hold a tighter rein on the Senate in the days since he was elected. He posted an ultimatum on social media on Sunday in which he demanded that any new Senate leader cooperate in his efforts to circumvent the confirmation process by calling recesses during which he could appoint personnel without winning Senate approval. All three candidates vying to lead the Senate next year quickly promised to speed through his choices.

So far, Mr. Trump has not lent his voice to the bid to block Mr. Thune, but influential figures in his orbit are pushing a campaign to do so. They include the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. Most of them are instead supporting Mr. Scott, whom Mr. Trump backed two years ago when he challenged Mr. McConnell.

But Mr. Trump is said to have privately conceded that Mr. Scott, who is unpopular with his colleagues, has little chance of succeeding in his bid. (The Floridian received only 10 votes the last time he sought to lead his G.O.P. colleagues.) One person close to Mr. Trump said the president-elect was reluctant to get involved in the leadership fight unless he is certain he has the votes to push the winner over the line.

Senators tend to resent outside intervention in their internal business or efforts to bully them publicly, even by a president or president-elect. Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist who traveled with Mr. Trump on his private plane during the campaign, has publicly threatened on social media to release negative information about Mr. Thune, a tactic that has the potential to backfire.

Mr. Trump has tried to insert himself in internal congressional elections in the past with mixed success. Last year during a prolonged fight among House Republicans over who should be their speaker, he backed Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio for the post, but the pressure campaign to install him, amplified by the hard right, alienated establishment Republicans, who banded together to defeat Mr. Jordan. Mr. Trump has had more success at tearing down candidacies than he has at boosting them. He torpedoed the speakership bid of Representative Tom Emmer, whom he slammed as a “RINO.” (Mr. Emmer ended the 2024 race by speaking enthusiastically on Mr. Trump’s behalf at his events.)

This time, the prospect of Mr. Trump’s involvement has scrambled an already intense fight among Senate Republicans about who should lead them.

For months, Mr. Thune and Mr. Cornyn have been seen as the front-runners in the race to succeed Mr. McConnell. Each has crisscrossed the country raising millions of dollars for other senators and shoring up votes privately.

Mr. Thune and Mr. Cornyn, both institutionalists, have worked to improve their relationships with Mr. Trump, who has been harshly critical of each at different times but has stayed out of the fray so far during this leadership contest. Mr. Thune visited Mar-a-Lago in March and spoke with Mr. Trump just days ago. Mr. Cornyn has met with Mr. Trump twice in recent months, in Texas and Nevada, and also speaks with him regularly.

Both have run quiet, traditional races, working in one-on-one meetings with senators to secure votes, pitching themselves as experienced leaders who can navigate the intricacies of Congress to deliver on Mr. Trump’s legislative agenda. Mr. Thune is believed to have an edge over Mr. Cornyn.

Mr. Scott, by contrast, is running to appeal to the right flank of the party, and doing so publicly and online. Many in the establishment wing of the party view Mr. Scott’s time leading Senate Republicans’ campaign arm as a failure. He was blamed for a failure to recruit quality candidates, questionable spending practices, and the release of a disastrous policy agenda including the phasing out of popular entitlement programs that was quickly repudiated by his colleagues.

Most Republican senators have not publicly declared which of the three candidates they support for majority leader. The three are set to meet on Tuesday night at a closed-door forum moderated by Senator Mike Lee of Utah. Privately, some are already grumbling about online influencers attempting to pressure them to change their votes.

Trump Builds His Administration

As his team ramps up the transition process, President-elect Donald Trump says his administration will radically reshape the federal government.

• Foreign Policy: While many of Trump’s foreign policy picks were once called neocons by their peers, they now speak the language of the “America First” movement.
• Skirting the Senate: Trump’s demand that Senate Republicans surrender their role in vetting his nominees poses an early test of whether his second term will be more radical than his first.
• Department of Education: The president-elect said he would use the department to further his priorities. He also said he would close it. Both options would face difficulties.
• Middle East: Trump’s nominees to serve as top diplomatic envoys to Israel and the Middle East indicate a staunch pro-Israel policy.
• Deportations: Trump is signaling with his staffing decisions his intention to carry out a campaign promise of widespread deportations of undocumented immigrants.