US Republicans: Thune seeks leadership of Senate minority
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day (South Africa)
A week after their heavy electoral defeat, Republicans in US Congress must choose their leaders for 2027. According to Business Day, Senate majority leader John Thune does not appear to face any rival to become minority leader, while the House contest is between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
John Thune, the Republican majority leader in the US Senate, is seeking the leadership of the minority from January, according to Reuters. He does not appear to face any opponent, a week after the party’s heavy electoral defeat, in which Democrats won at least 54 of the 100 Senate seats and at least 252 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives.
For their part, conservative Republican senators are calling for the leadership election to be postponed so that a review session can first be held. Thune replied that his party needed to discuss the defeats before proceeding to a vote: “I am running to lead, but I think it is important that we have this discussion.” In the House, leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan are in a tight race for the minority leadership, after House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not wish to remain at the head of the party. Donald Trump said he would not get involved.
The internal votes in both chambers will be held by secret ballot at the Capitol. They will determine the role Republicans intend to play in the minority during the last two years of Donald Trump’s term.
