A Senate Republican has not yet decided whether to back Majority Leader John Thune for another term as the party’s leader, with leadership elections approaching.
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said the next leader should first explain how Republicans plan to advance their priorities during the congressional lame-duck session, before Democrats take control in January. Thune intends to seek another term, but Scott and several other Republicans want to postpone Tuesday’s leadership vote until the party has reviewed its election losses. Scott said his support would depend on Thune’s case for the job.
“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse,” Scott said. The party should decide what it wants to accomplish first, he argued, and candidates—including Thune—should then explain why they are best positioned to deliver it.
Democrats won Senate seats in several Republican-leaning states, securing a 54-seat majority that could increase depending on unresolved races in Mississippi and Alaska. Republicans have a narrow window to advance priorities while they still control the government.
Thune said Monday that he expected a “very engaged conversation” before the leadership election. He confirmed that he was running and said the party needed to have the discussion.
Scott wants candidates to give specific plans for balancing the budget and passing measures including a ban on stock trading by lawmakers, permitting reform, the National Defense Authorization Act and the SAVE America Act. He said action on those issues would show voters that Republicans had heard their concerns after the election setbacks.
“Back home, they don’t care about anything other than: do we make their lives better?” Scott said.
Thune is currently running without an opponent. Scott said he does not intend to run, having sought the leadership position twice before: once against Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2022 and again in 2024, when Republicans were choosing McConnell’s successor. Asked whether he hoped another candidate would enter the race, Scott replied, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that to anybody.”
Scott and Sens. Ron Johnson, Ted Budd, John Kennedy and Mike Lee signed a letter asking Republicans to meet before holding leadership elections and to delay the vote until they had discussed the election results and the party’s next steps. Sens. Jim Banks and Dave McCormick also called for a delay, though they did not sign the letter.
Scott said the timing should depend on how quickly Republicans can agree on a path forward. Once they have settled on an agenda, he said, they can hold the election and decide who should lead based on candidates’ commitment to carrying it out.
