Republican senators could choose this Wednesday their next majority leader for the new Congress that opens in January, but what is at stake is how close he will be to President-elect Donald Trump.
Republican senators meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to decide who will replace Senate leader Mitch McConnell and lead their new majority next year, a decision that could shape the future of the upper chamber and the party as Donald Trump regains the presidency. .
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Florida Sen. Rick Scott have been fighting to win the majority of votes in the secret ballot election, promising a new direction in the Senate even as they compete fiercely. for Trump's favor.
It will be the first test of Trump's relationship with Congress after he won the election, but it is unclear who will win.
Thune and Cornyn have campaigned primarily within the Senate, working individually and privately with senators and raising millions of dollars for Republican candidates. Both moved quickly in March after McConnell announced he was stepping away from leadership.
Scott has run an insurgent campaign outside the Senate, publicly campaigning as Trump's closest candidate and winning endorsements from people close to the future president. Scott received strong support in X over the weekend as Trump allies, including Elon Musk, pushed his candidacy.
The choice of senators, and whether Trump finally endorses a candidate in the final hours, could set the tone for the president-elect's attempts to assert control over the legislative branch in his second term. His relationship with McConnell was strained in his first term, and Trump often became frustrated that lawmakers did not fully bend to his will.
Both Cornyn and Thune have grown closer to Trump in recent months after criticizing him as he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss.
However, the two senior senators are seen by their colleagues as institutionalists more in the McConnell mold, while Scott has worked to rally support outside the Senate, and within Trump's inner circle, to push for an internal review.