The race for Senate leadership: Cornyn, Scott may create super ticket to defeat Thune

With Republicans having won control of the U.S. Senate, the fight for who will lead the upper chamber has commenced, as a secret ballot election could ultimately result in two senators sharing the top leadership position.

Following the election of former President Donald Trump to his second term in the White House and Republicans winning a majority of seats in the Senate, the leadership battle for Senate majority leader has come down to three senators. Two of the contenders for the leadership position may join forces if no one receives a majority of votes in the initial election on Wednesday.

Sens. John Thune, R-S.D.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Rick Scott, R-Fla.; are all competing to be Senate majority leader as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is stepping down from the GOP leadership position he has held since 2007. Thune is currently the Senate minority whip, a position that Cornyn previously held.

Scott previously challenged McConnell for leadership following the 2022 midterm elections and was supported by Trump, but was unsuccessful. The senator from Florida led the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2021 through last year.

"Super ticket"

A senator, speaking to Just the News on the condition of anonymity, has talked with all three contenders and said that while Thune is likely to receive the most votes in the first round, Cornyn and Scott together would likely have more votes total. As a result, Cornyn and Scott would create a super ticket with both of them running for the leadership position together and putting a 24-hour pause on the leadership election.

Republican senators who will be in office next year, including those who were just elected this month, will participate in the election for Senate leadership. A simple majority of the GOP conference is needed to decide who will be the next Senate majority leader. However, if none of the candidates receive a majority of votes, then the one with the fewest votes is eliminated before another round of voting starts.

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., have all endorsed Scott for Senate majority leader. Elon Musk has also thrown his endorsement behind Scott, along with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk and grassroots activist Scott Pressler.

Thune has urged President-elect Donald Trump to stay out of the leadership contest. Sens. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; and Steve Daines, R-Mont.; all support Thune for Senate majority leader.

Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has endorsed Cornyn.

Trump posted on social media on Sunday about his requirement for those running for Senate leadership.

“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. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more,” Trump wrote.

“This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!”

Scott replied to Trump’s post on X, writing, “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.”

Cornyn also posted on X regarding Trump’s appointments, writing, “It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President [Donald Trump’s] cabinet appointments. If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.

“Article II, Section 2, Clause 3: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”

Following Trump’s post, Thune told Fox News, "I’ve spent eight months carefully listening to my colleagues about their vision for the next chapter of the Senate Republican Conference, especially as we hit the ground running with President Trump.

"One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we’ve been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments," he continued. “We cannot let Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats block the will of the American people.”

Thune and Trump have had a rocky relationship over the years, from the senator saying in October 2016 that vice presidential nominee Mike Pence should be president over Trump to the president in 2020 saying the senator should be primaried. However, Thune has visited Mar-a-Lago multiple times this year and publicly supported Trump’s policies.

Trump has also fought with Cornyn over a gun safety bill following the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the senator said last year that Republicans should choose a different candidate for 2024 because Trump couldn’t win reelection. However, Cornyn has since joined Trump for rallies and said the day before the presidential election this year, “As I told President Trump, I'm interested in getting the band back together again.”

Supporting Trump's mandate

Scott has had the closest relationship with Trump out of the three candidates, but is newer to the Senate than Thune and Cornyn as he is still in his first term as senator.

RNC Co-Chair and Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, told podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday regarding the Senate leadership election, “I think that you’ve seen in the past, how, even people within our own party, have fought against the agenda that the American people want. And you’re right, you cannot look at 312 electoral votes, you cannot look at winning the popular vote by, I think, 7 million people, and say, the American people want anything other than Donald Trump at the top, and for his agenda to get passed. And in order to do that, obviously, we want leadership in Congress who is going to fight for the very thing the American people mandated on November 5th of this year.”

Mentioning that there are three contenders for the position, she said, "Rick Scott clearly has been very loyal to Donald Trump,” later adding, "I certainly think that Rick Scott would do an amazing job."

The offices for Cornyn and Scott didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the GOP Senate conference will also be voting on majority whip and conference chair. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is running unopposed for the former, while Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are vying for the latter.