Thune re-elected as US Senate Republican leader after midterm losses

Résumé détaillé

The Republican ran unopposed, despite some GOP lawmaker demands to evaluate the party's stinging midterm losses to Democ

As they prepare to lose power, Republicans in the United States Senate have re-elected John Thune to lead their party during the final years of Donald Trump’s presidency.

At a closed-door meeting at the US Capitol on Tuesday, the South Dakota lawmaker won the support of his fellow Senate Republicans – even as some had hoped to delay the leadership vote to examine what went wrong in last week’s election.

“I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today”, Thune said in a statement after the vote. “I am honored to have their continued trust and support to lead the Senate Republican Conference in the 120th Congress.”

Unlike two years ago, when he competed against two of his fellow Republicans to replace outgoing Senator Mitch McConnell as the party’s Senate leader, Thune ran unopposed on Tuesday for the role.

Senator Josh Hawley told reporters after the vote that “maybe there would be” a challenger if Senate Republicans had waited longer.

“I just think that we’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to think through, and I think that to just rush into this and just ratify all of the same leadership, what message does that send?” the Missouri Republican said.

Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who circulated a letter asking for a delay in the vote, said he tried to postpone the leadership decision. He said his conference needed to do some “real soul searching” but, like Hawley, conceded that no one else had stepped up to challenge Thune.

“That’s part of our problem, who would want the job?” he said as he turned to a reporter and joked, “Do you want it?”

Thune’s re-election comes as Republicans in the US House selected Speaker Mike Johnson’s successor. Congressman Jim Jordan was elected as the US House minority leader, marking his first foray into Republican leadership.

Début de l'article, extrait de Al Jazeera. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.