Who’s in the running to become the next Republican Senate leader?

Senators Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Thune of South Dakota are all vying for the top position

Three GOP senators are set to battle in a secret vote this week in a bid to be named the next Republican Senate leader, replacing the outgoing Mitch McConnell - and all three could have a signficant hand in shaping America’s policy.

Senators Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota are all vying for the top position, as President-elect Donald Trump is pressuring them to allow him to make recess appointments so he can fast-track positions without Senate approval. Whoever wins the vote will be expected to help Trump enact his agenda that includes hard-line immigration enforcement, tax cuts and a host of other campaign promises.

“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,” Trump wrote in a social media post on X.

“Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”

While a president has the constitutional authority to make recess appointments, they are rarely used and are intended for emergencies. The appointments can last for up to two years without any Senate involvement.

Donald Trump in the Oval Office with outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pictured in July 2020. McConnell is stepping down as the Republican Senate leader, and now several are aiming to replace him (Getty Images)

Elon Musk, who has endorsed Scott for the role, also weighed in despite the fact he is not a member of the U.S. government and cannot vote for a Senate majority. “This is essential. There is no other way,” Musk replied to the president-elect’s order.

Musk also asked his 204.2 million followers in a poll who they think should be the next Senate leader, which resulted in 65.5 percent for Scott.

“It’s going to be bloody and rough, and money is going to matter,” one GOP aide told The Hill. 

But who are the candidates in the running?

Rick Scott

Although he is largely seen as the outsider in this contest, Trump allies have been quick to endorse Scott for Senate leader. Scott, from Trump’s home state of Florida, has already received the backing of Robert F Kennedy Jr, Tucker Carlson and fellow Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

The wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate has already said to Trump he will do “whatever it takes” to get his nominations through “as quickly as possible.”

The 71-year-old former Governor of Florida, who was reelected to the U.S. Senate last week, told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo at the weekend that, “we have got to change the way the Senate is run to get Trump’s agenda done.”

Before entering politics, Scott was the chief executive of Columbia/HCA Health Corporation, but resigned after federal agents found the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. He “took responsibility” for what happened in 2010, but denied any wrongdoing and was not charged with a crime.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida has picked up the backing of several Trump loyalists as he runs for Senate majority leader (AP)

The company settled for $1.7 billion and Scott still walked away with $10 million severance pay and $300 million in stock and options, the Miami Herald reports.

Scott’s gubernatorial race in 2010 was won with Trump’s incoming White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, at the helm. Wiles is still a close friend of the Florida senator.

John Cornyn

As a close McConnell ally, Texas senator Cornyn has been waiting in the wings for his chance at the top Senate job.

He was McConnell’s No. 2 from 2013 to 2019 and is a fundraising powerhouse for Senate Republicans, raising over $406 million since he was first elected in 2002.

The 72-year-old, who was Senate Republican whip during the first two years of Trump’s first administration, has already signaled he will also appease Trump’s wishes to change protocol in the Senate. “It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump’s cabinet appointments,” he posted on X on Sunday. “If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent.”

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, has long been the No. 2 to McConnell, but some have blasted him for not always being a strong Trump backer (AP)

But Cornyn has not always been Trump’s most vocal supporter. “President Trump’s time has passed him by and I think what’s the most important thing to me is we have a candidate who can actually win,” he said in May 2023.

Cornyn, who was Texas attorney general from 1999 to 2002, did eventually endorse Trump, but some on the far right of the party have called him “anti-gun, anti-Trump,” the Texas Tribune reports.

Vice President-elect JD Vance also clerked for Cornyn on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he was a student at Yale Law School in 2011.

John Thune

Musk has slammed Thune as being “the top choice of Democrats.”

The Senate GOP whip, 63, of South Dakota, said he believes it’s in Trump’s “best interest” to stay out of the Senate leadership race.

“I’m staying in regular contact with him and with his team and, obviously, if he wants to, he could exert a considerable amount of influence on that but, honestly, I think my preference would be and I think it’s probably in his best interest to stay out of [the race,]” Thune told CNBC.

“These Senate secret-ballot elections are probably best left to the senators and he’s got to work with all of us when it’s all said and done,” he added.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota has been slammed as “the top choice of Democrats” for the job (AP)

Thune, an evangelical Christian who grew up in the small town of Murdo in South Dakota, has bounced back since losing the Senate race by 524 votes in 2002.

He traveled to Mar-a-Lago in the spring when he launched his bid to Trump to replace McConnell, but his failure to go along with the president-elect in 2020 over the baseless election fraud claims might damage his chances.

Thune has since tried to soften his position, asserting that Trump can be trusted with the presidency a second time around while acknowledging that 2020 “was hard, painful and tumultuous in many ways.”

“I think with respect to democratic norms, my expectation is that [Trump’s] going to ... follow them. He’s going to do things clearly his own way,” Thune added.