Thune elected Senate Majority Leader
By 
This seems like a least-worst outcome under the circumstances:
GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota has won the Senate leadership race, beating Texas Sen. John Cornyn on the second round of votes, according to three sources in the room.
The vote total was 29-24.
“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress,” he said in a statement, “and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House. This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.”
Thune will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as the Republican leader in the chamber. McConnell is the longest serving Senate party leader in history.
In choosing Thune — who is presently serving as minority whip, the No. 2 role in GOP Senate leadership — Republicans are elevating a leader associated with the establishment wing of the party over Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who was championed in recent days by several prominent Trump allies, including Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tucker Carlson.
In a Monday op-ed on Fox News’ website, Thune, making his case for the leadership role, urged fellow Republicans to prioritize backing Trump’s agenda, including the president-elect’s plans to crack down on immigration, bring down prices, increase domestic energy production and pass tax legislation.
“We cannot afford to take this coalition for granted. If we fail to deliver on President Trump’s priorities, we will lose their support,” Thune wrote. “They have trusted us with their votes. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
The Senate Majority Leader does have a lot of parliamentary power, assuming all those norms and guardrails hold up.
Rick Scott would have been an unambiguous disaster, so it’s nice to miss one of those for a change.