Senate Republicans tapped John Thune of South Dakota to lead the conference for the next two years and succeed Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving leader of either party in chamber history.

Thune, who has served as the Republican whip since 2019, edged out John Cornyn of Texas 29-24 on the second ballot.

“It’s a new day in the United States Senate; it’s a new day in America,” the majority leader-elect told reporters following the vote.

“Congratulations to Senator John Thune, the Newly Elected Senate Majority Leader,” President-elect Trump cheered on his Truth Social. “He moves quickly, and will do an outstanding job.” 

Rick Scott of Florida, a late favorite of hard-right members, was eliminated on the first ballot after receiving just 13 votes to 15 for Cornyn and 23 for Thune.

Both rounds of votes were made by secret ballot among all 53 Republican senators and senators-elect — including Vice President-elect and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was announced hours later as Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. 

An online pressure campaign from Trump allies, including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and billionaire Elon Musk, failed to whip enough senators to quietly support Scott and oust competitors seen as more establishment-minded.

“I want to thank my colleagues and the millions of Americans who supported my run and made their voices heard to demand change,” said Scott, who unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for the Senate GOP leadership in 2022.

“We will never stop fighting to turn our country around, advance President Trump’s agenda & Make America Great Again.”

“This Republican team is united,” Thune said in a news conference, gesturing to Majority Whip-elect John Barrasso of Wyoming, Conference Chair-elect Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Vice Chair-elect James Lankford of Oklahoma, Policy Committee Chair-elect Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Tim Scott of South Carolina.

“[To] those who were supporting another candidate, I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican Congress,” he said.

Kirk responded on social media that Thune, 63, had “a short window to show us he will support President Trump, fill his cabinet, confirm his judges, and pass his agenda.”

“If he doesn’t, we will work to remove him,” Kirk vowed.

Thune also promised to work closely with Trump’s administration “to enforce border security laws and remove violent criminals,” to “make America prosperous again by streamlining a bureaucratic machine and overturning costly Biden-Harris regulations” and “to restore American energy dominance.”

Barrasso recalled that while campaigning for Republican candidates in recent weeks, “a woman in Michigan talked about the fact that she was embarrassed to let her husband know that she had to go to the local food bank in order to get by.”

“Democrats were focused on President Trump,” he told reporters. “Republicans were focused on the needs of the American people. People wanted to get prices down, wanted to secure the border, wanted us to unleash American energy.”

The rhetoric closely matched Trump’s own pledges to voters during his successful campaign against both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Come January, Thune will be the first non-McConnell GOP Senate majority leader since Bill Frist of Tennessee, who held that post for four years before giving way to McConnell (R-Ky.) following the Republican wipeout in the 2006 midterms.

Trump, 78, had urged Senate Republican candidates vying for the leadership position to embrace so-called “recess appointments,” a request that some saw as a loyalty test.

Thune, Cornyn and Scott had all agreed that use of the recess authority was on the table, though hardline conservatives resurfaced past remarks by Thune and Cornyn arguing against the practice to bolster Scott’s bid.

“What we’re going to do is make sure that we are processing his nominees in a way that gets them into those positions,” Thune said when asked whether he was still open to allowing the 47th president to appoint officials with the Senate out of session.

“How that happens remains to be seen,” he added, noting that Republicans “expect a level of cooperation from the Democrats” but would “explore all options.”

“I look forward to working with him,” current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a floor speech. “We’ve done many bipartisan things here in the Senate together, and I hope that continues.”

US presidents bring in roughly 1,200 political appointees, the highest-ranking of whom require majority approval by the Senate.

Recess appointments were more common under former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, but have largely been abandoned since a 2014 Supreme Court ruling found three appointees of President Barack Obama were improperly installed under the practice.

If used, a recess-appointed official serves for up to two years without Senate confirmation.

McConnell, 82, announced in February that he would step down as majority leader to make way for “the next generation of leadership.”

The Kentucky Republican had an at times strained relationship with Trump, but nevertheless implemented much of his first administration’s agenda as well as a hundreds of judicial appointments and the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority.

Though McConnell voted to acquit the 45th president in his impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the pair have been estranged ever since.

The two briefly met and bumped fists when Trump visited Capitol Hill in June to give the GOP an election-year “pep talk.”