Welcome to the online version of From the Political Bureauan evening newsletter with the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapur looks at how newly elected Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s relationship with newly elected President Donald Trump will soon be tested. Plus the latest on Trump’s Cabinet nominations and JD Vance’s views on the vice presidency.
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The new Republican Senate leader is walking a MAGA tightrope
By Sahil Kapur
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was elected Wednesday as the next majority leader at a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans, replacing Mitch McConnell as he steps down from the top job after a record 18 years.
The victory of Thune, a well-known institutionalist, shows that while the Senate Republican Conference has become more aligned with newly elected President Donald Trump with each successive election, it has not transformed into the MAGA entity that is the Republican Party in the House of Representatives.
An online army of Trump supporters mobilized to push for the underdog candidate, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., viewing him as the most loyal among their options. Not only did the effort fail, but some Republican aides told NBC News it backfired and created a negative reaction among senators. The secret nature of the vote made them less susceptible to outside pressure and was a real test of how Republicans feel.
But Scott was rejected on the first ballot, receiving the fewest votes of the three contenders. That set up a head-to-head race on the second ballot between Thune and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a fellow long-serving institutionalist. Thune and Cornyn have both climbed the ladder in the past and have broken with Trump in some areas in the past, including on Jan. 6 and his false claims about a stolen election.
The most revealing part? Trump himself did not get involved in the race. Before the vote, Thune warned Trump about it on CNBC, saying, “I think it’s probably in his best interest to stay out of that.”
Neither Thune nor Cornyn endorsed Trump in this year’s Republican Party primaries. But both supported him in the general election after he was on his way to the nomination. And after Trump’s decisive election victory, all three candidates ran for office on a platform to advance his agenda.
“This Republican team stands united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work begins today,” Thune said in a statement after he was elected.
Still, at his first post-election news conference, he pledged that Senate Republicans would keep the legislative filibuster under his control — the 60-vote threshold that Trump repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, pressured Republican senators to remove during his first term. to eliminate. Republican senators overwhelmingly agree with Thune on that.
And the competitive dynamics within the Republican Senate will soon come to the fore again, as Thune and his members will oversee the confirmation process for Trump’s Cabinet selections in the new year. Several of these picks – GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as attorney general, Democrat-turned-Republican former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and former National Guard member and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense – have already drawn reactions ranging from surprise to bewilderment.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Gaetz’s prospects for confirmation were “a long shot,” adding that it’s “quite possible” Trump is testing the limits of how far he can push the Senate .
Meanwhile, House Republicans voted unanimously to nominate Louisiana’s Mike Johnson for re-election as speaker in January, with Trump’s support.
NBC News predicted Wednesday that Republicans would retain control of the House of Representatives, meaning voters officially handed Trump and his party all the instruments of power in Washington. But a majority that is likely to be small again will pose challenges for the party — especially as Trump withdraws from the ranks of the Republican Party for his Cabinet.
Read more →
Trump transition watch
Beyond Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth, Trump has announced several other personnel moves in the past 24 hours.
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Trump selected tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, fulfilling a campaign promise to give Musk deep oversight of government spending.
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But Musk’s near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago in the week since Election Day is starting to rub off on people who have been in Trump’s inner circle longer than he has and who feel he is overstepping his role in the transition.
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Trump said he would nominate John Ratcliffe as CIA director. Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.
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Trump has announced that William McGinley will become his White House counsel. McGinley, a longtime presence in Republican legal circles, served as Cabinet secretary during the first Trump administration.
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And special counsel Jack Smith and his team plan to resign before Trump takes office. Smith’s office has been exploring the best way to complete its work on the two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump, because the Justice Department’s long-standing position is that it cannot charge a sitting president with a crime.
Loyalty, trust and a ‘hammer’ for Trump: a taste of Vance’s vice presidency
By Henry J. Gomez
J.D. Vance has said little about his vision for the vice presidency, other than to mention some areas of policy interest, such as immigration. As a candidate, he stuck faithfully to Trump’s script, filling in the blanks where necessary but rarely overstepping the man whose support pulled him out of a crowded Republican Senate primary field in Ohio in 2022.
Those who have watched his meteoric rise expect that momentum to continue even if and when Vance prepares to run for president in 2028. Allies of Trump and Vance believe loyalty is Vance’s greatest attribute and his smartest play for the short-term future of their government. and for its longer-term political future.
“He will focus on whatever issues the president directs him to do,” said a source familiar with the relationship between Trump and Vance.
Vance’s unwavering loyalty to Trump has been his calling card since his well-documented conversion from Trump critic to champion, and their bond as running mates has grown closer. They can be reached by telephone daily and at all hours. After voting near his home in Cincinnati on Election Day, Vance told reporters about the 3 a.m. call he missed from Trump a few hours earlier. Trump was on his way home from his final campaign rally, but Vance was already asleep.
Vance is seen within the Trump world as a smart political player who may have defined policy visions but is not an ideologue, a campaign official said. Those close to Trump do not see Vance as someone who would spend political capital pursuing an agenda that conflicts with his own. What best serves Vance’s political ambitions, this official said, would be a successful Trump administration, free of infighting, in which he can shine.
Part of Vance’s portfolio could build on his constitutional role as president of the Senate, which Republicans will control next year and where he will generally only be needed to cast tie-breaking votes. Vance will be Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the House, the source familiar with their relationship said.
“JD,” the source said, “wants to be a hammer for Trump in the Senate.”
Read more →
🗞️Today’s other top stories
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🤝 Return to the oval: Trump returned to the White House for the first time since being voted out of office to meet with President Joe Biden for a ceremony intended to signal a peaceful transition of power. Read more →
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🗳️ Not over yet: The battle for the Senate in Pennsylvania is headed to a recount, which the narrow margin between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Senator Bob Casey automatically triggered under state law. Read more →
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☑️ Latest Race Calls: The next Congress will consist of two House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, with NBC News projecting that Reps. David Valadao of California and Dan Newhouse of Washington will win re-election have won. Read more →
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📺 Split ticket: In the four battleground states where Vice President Kamala Harris lost but Democratic Senate candidates won, a divide emerged in their messaging strategy. While Harris and her outside allies focused on plans for the future, the down-ballot candidates spent a lot of advertising time touting their achievements. Read more →
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🙅 Phase one: Republican Eric Hovde is refusing to concede defeat in Wisconsin’s Senate race, casting doubt on the results despite a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing in last week’s election. Read more →
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💲 Inflation watch : Price growth rose in October as voters began casting ballots for presidential elections in which economic concerns played a major role. Read more →
For now, that all comes from the Political Bureau. If you have any feedback – like it or not – please email us at politicsnieuwsbrief@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
