Despite a landslide victory for Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” agenda last week, a ferocious battle has suddenly broken out in the U.S. Senate over who will be the chamber’s new leader, with some saying outgoing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to thwart the plans of the president-elect.
“What the hell is going on in the U.S. Senate?” Tucker Carlson is asking on X. “Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the Senate.
“Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on. One of them, John Cornyn, is an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s. The election is Wednesday, it’s by secret ballot, and it will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds. Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again.”
Besides Scott and Cornyn, the other senator whose name is in the mix for majority leader is John Thune of South Dakota.
With the leadership fight now under way, Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who fiercely campaigned for Trump’s return to the White House, made his pick known, saying: “Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!”
Trump himself went online Sunday to voice his demands regarding the matter: “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.
“Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!”
Sen. Scott responded to Trump, saying: “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.”
100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible. https://t.co/GlrHx2zJXh
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) November 10, 2024
And Musk echoed Trump’s sentiment: “Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration! This would make it impossible to enact the change demanded by the American people, which is utterly unacceptable.”
Musk even conducted his own poll on X Sunday evening asking who should be Senate majority leader. With more than 900,000 votes as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern, Scott was the runaway winner with 65.6% support. Thune collected 6.4% of the vote, and Cornyn had only 5.2%. The response of “Other” actually finished ahead of Thune and Cornyn, with 22.7%.
Rick Scott himself appeared on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, making his case for his election by his colleagues this Wednesday.
The time for bold action to quickly confirm President Trump’s nominees and enact his agenda in the Senate starts TODAY.
We can and must change the direction of our country – that’s why I’m running to be Senate Majority Leader. pic.twitter.com/3ZLXYkxZAG
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) November 10, 2024
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