Republican John Thune displaces Rick Scott and will be majority leader of the US Senate

South Dakota Senator John Thune was chosen by Republicans as the next Senate Majority Leader, making a momentous turn in his leadership by replacing Mitch McConnell, while President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Thune, 63, is in his fourth term in the Senate and has promised to work closely with Trump, despite the differences they have had over the years. He will be a crucial part of the incoming president’s efforts to advance his political agenda.

He defeated two other competitors, Senators John Cornyn and Rick Scott, a fierce critic of Nicolás Maduro’s government, by winning majority support from Republican senators in a secret ballot.

Republicans are replacing McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, as they prepare to take majority control of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last week’s elections.

Like McConnell, Thune comes from the more traditional wing of the Republican Party. He has held the position of Republican disciplinarian – number 2 in the party leadership – since 2019.

Once estranged, now realigned

Thune has at times gone against Trump’s wishes for Congress, publicly distancing himself from the president-elect over the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he called “inexcusable.”

But in recent months, Thune has realigned with Trump, visiting him at his home in Florida, and the two have been consulting on how to implement the incoming president’s agenda.

Thune told The Associated Press over the summer that he sees his relationship with Trump as a professional relationship. If both win their elections, Thune said, “we have a job to do.”

Thune’s victory is even more extraordinary because of his election to the Senate in 2004, defeating then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle after arguing during the campaign that Daschle had lost his South Dakota roots during his years in Democratic leadership. Twenty years later, Thune will become majority leader himself.

Four new advisors

The president-elect incorporated four advisors from his presidential campaign into his new government on Wednesday.

Dan Scavino will serve as deputy director without providing a specific portfolio, campaign political director James Blair as deputy director for legislative, political and public affairs, and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. All will have the rank of assistant to the president.

Blair was the political director of Trump’s campaign and, once Trump became the Republican Party’s nominee, was the political director of the Republican National Committee.

Scavino was a senior adviser on Trump’s campaign and, in his first term in the White House, worked as social media director.

He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of his golf courses, and was part of a small group of employees who traveled with the president around the country throughout the campaign.

Trump formally announced that Stephen Miller, a strong supporter of tough immigration policies, will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and national security advisor. This had previously been confirmed by Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday.

Miller is one of the Trump’s oldest collaboratorssince his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior advisor in Trump’s first term and has been a central figure in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration.

[Con información de AP]

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