WASHINGTON — Republicans elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune As the next Senate majority leader, they complete a significant shift in their leadership that elevates a top surrogate. Mitch McConnell A key position as president-elect Donald Trump He’s returning to the White House.

Thune, 63, is entering his fourth term in the Senate and has vowed to work closely with Trump despite their differences over the years, which will be a key part of the next president’s efforts to advance his policy agenda. The two spoke by phone shortly after Thune was elected, and the senator added in a post Wednesday afternoon that “Senate Republicans are excited and ready to work with the next president.”

Trump later congratulated Thune on his social media platform Truth Social. “He is moving quickly and will do an outstanding job,” Trump wrote. “I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Thune outlasted his other two rivals, the Sens. John Cornyn And Rick ScottBy gaining the support of a majority of GOP senators in two rounds of secret voting held behind closed doors. Scott was eliminated in the first round and the final vote between Thune and Cornyn was 29-24, according to multiple people who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the private meeting.

He replaces McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the Senate, as Republicans prepare to capture the majority of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last week’s elections. It was the first competitive election for the Republican leader in three decades and the first regime change for Senate Republicans since McConnell became GOP leader in 2007.

Thune’s election represents a major shift in the upper chamber’s GOP conference, as many senators are eager to break away from McConnell’s long and powerful reign. But it will also be a complicated test for Thune, as he will need to lead a conference often divided on policy, navigate Trump’s demands of the legislature and ensure the president wins on policy as he begins his second term.

“It’s a new day in the United States Senate,” Thune told reporters shortly after his election. He said most would work to strengthen border security laws, lower energy costs and reverse regulations they see as burdensome.

“We are excited to regain the majority and begin working with our colleagues in the House to implement President Trump’s agenda,” Thune said.

As the candidates tried to win the support of individual senators, all of their pitches focused on how close they would be to Trump. That was a tougher task for Cornyn and Thune, who publicly broke with the former president over his effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. At the time, Thune called Trump’s actions “inexcusable.”

But in recent months, Thune has tried to mend that relationship by visiting Trump at his home in Florida and consulting with him on how to implement the incoming president’s agenda. Thune he told the Associated Press He views their potential relationship over the summer as a professional relationship. If they both win the election, “we have a job to do,” Thune said.

In his defense, Thune made clear that he would listen to Trump’s demands. When Trump X posted this on Sunday The new leader must “accept” Wanting to avoid confirmation votes, allowing him to appoint Cabinet members and others while the Senate is in recess, Thune quickly responded by stating that the Senate must act “quickly and decisively” to install nominees and that “all options are on the table.” to make this happen, including recess appointments.

Speaking to reporters after his election, Thune noted that “the Senate has an advice and consent rule in the Constitution” but that they will do their best to put their candidates into office.

“Time will tell how this will play out,” Thune said.

Thune’s victory is even more unusual because he was elected 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 of Democratic leadership. Twenty years later, Thune will be the majority leader.

A well-liked and respected communicator, Thune was perceived as a leader for much of the year. Like McConnell, he comes from the more traditional wing of the Republican Party.

He is the former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and held the position of Republican whip — no. 2 in party leadership – since 2019. He took over for McConnell for several weeks last year while he was on medical leave; it was a move widely seen as an audition of sorts due to speculation surrounding McConnell’s future.

Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues as he prepared to run for leadership. He has raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, according to aides; This included a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senate’s main campaign arm.

The choice was a tough one for many at the conference who saw Thune and Cornyn as similar choices. They are similar on politics, generally voting in line with the conference but occasionally working with Democrats. Cornyn is a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. leading role in bipartisan gun legislation two years ago.

But the two disagreed over whether the leader’s term should be limited; This was the main demand of some on the conservative wing. While Cornyn pushed the boundaries, Thune did not.

Scott, the former governor of Florida, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and quickly positioned himself as a foil to McConnell, running against him for the leadership in 2022 and aligning himself with Utah Sen. mike lee and others who are highly critical of the current leadership.

While Thune and Cornyn had been courting their colleagues one by one all year, Scott was committed to his own re-election race. It’s easy loser Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by more than 10 points.

In the week since the election, Scott has aggressively stepped up his campaign for GOP leader, campaigning publicly as the candidate closest to Trump and gaining endorsements from people close to the former and future president, such as billionaires. Elon Musk. But some questioned whether this strategy would backfire.

Thune’s counterpart in the state, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, said he preferred Thune and Cornyn to “handle the issue one-on-one with everyone” but said he also spoke with Scott. “We have three qualifiers,” he said before the race.

Still, both Thune and Cornyn adopted some of Scott’s ideas as they sought to win support from voters. Thune told the conference at a candidate forum Tuesday evening that he would allow for more changes on the floor and that the McConnell regime would improve its communications and address frequent complaints from that wing of the conference.

McConnell did not say who he was supporting, but said after the vote that Thune’s victory was “a clear endorsement of an excellent leader.”

“The American people elected Republicans to restore stability and order after four years of failure by Washington Democrats,” McConnell said. “John Thune will take the reins with a tremendous opportunity to lead this transformation, and Senate Republicans are standing behind him and ready to get to work.”