Senate leaders face immediate votes as parties return to Washington
Republicans are set to vote on John Thune’s leadership on Tuesday, while Democrats debate whether to retain Chuck Schumer amid a potential 56-seat majority.
By Ethan Cook ·
A quarter of the Senate Republican conference is vanishing due to election losses and retirements, a loss that has triggered a leadership crisis in Washington.
Senators from both parties returned to the Capitol on Monday with urgent questions about their internal structure after last week’s election gave Democrats a large new majority.
Republicans are scheduled to vote on whether to reelect South Dakota Sen. John Thune as leader on Tuesday. The vote will occur in a closed-door session with a secret ballot.
Some members of the GOP conference believe the timeline is too aggressive. They argue that the party needs more time to analyze the election results before selecting new leadership.
Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick issued a statement over the weekend stating that Republicans should not choose a leader until the lessons of the election are fully debated.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who signed a letter with Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, called for a delay until the two remaining Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi are decided. It is not yet known if Republican incumbents Dan Sullivan and Cindy Hyde Smith will return.
Thune indicated that the conference is moving forward with the Tuesday vote. He stated that the group will hold a thorough conversation about their direction and determine the consensus of the conference.
“Ultimately that’s a decision made by Republican senators,” Thune said on the Senate floor Monday.
Thune has maintained a distinct distance from President Donald Trump at times. The president described Thune as “a very fine man” on Monday but noted that the decision on his reelection “is up to the Senate.”
On the Democratic side, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer faces internal pressure despite leading his party to historic gains. Democrats could control as many as 56 seats in the next Congress.
Schumer has served as the leader of the Senate Democratic caucus for 12 years. Critics from both the left and right have questioned whether he is the right person to lead the party during this period of expansion.
Schumer said his party will focus on affordability. He pledged to “spend every second of every day striving to prove ourselves worthy of Americans’ trust.”
