Senators Try to Slow GOP Leadership Vote

A handful of GOP Senators are looking to slow their party’s leadership vote, scheduled for Tuesday, the Daily Signal can confirm.

Majority Leader John Thune is currently running unopposed for minority leader, and Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming is expected to again seek election as the second-ranking Republican. The GOP conference is expected to vote Tuesday, just one week after they suffered historic losses in the midterm elections.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has gathered five signatures on a letter demanding the delay of leadership votes, the Daily Signal confirmed. Johnson is expected to gather more signatures through the weekend, and he has assembled enough support to force a conference meeting to discuss pushing the vote back, Punchbowl News reported.

“The purpose seems to be pumping the brakes before GOP leadership simply floats back to their positions, an opportunity to show Americans that the conference is taking Tuesday’s message seriously,” one Senate aide told the Daily Signal.

The GOP lost seven Senate seats on Tuesday, with two more races uncalled as of Friday but trending towards Democrat victories. Democrats flipped roughly 40 House seats, building a strong majority with more results coming in. 

Thune has had a rocky relationship with President Donald Trump over the last year, with most of the frustration stemming from the SAVE America Act stalling in the Senate. In July, then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president’s patience with Thune was “running out.”

A second Senate aide told the Daily Signal that Thune and Trump spoke on Wednesday. The source added that the leaders have a good relationship and talk frequently.

Prior to Johnson’s letter, a GOP staffer told the Daily Signal that there was frustration behind the scenes with Thune’s leadership bid.

“Look, as long as these elections are done behind closed doors by secret ballot, the American people don’t have a voice at all in this process. The status quo is safe because members don’t have to face any kind of accountability for voting to protect it. Until you change that, nothing else changes,” a Senate GOP aide told the Daily Signal of the upcoming leadership elections.

Incoming freshmen will soon arrive in Washington D.C. for their new member orientation between Nov. 8 and 18. House Democrats are expected to choose their leaders Nov. 18 or Nov. 19.

In the House, the GOP is expected to have some battles for leadership with House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana going for the minority position. Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger of Texas launched a challenge to Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota for the role of No. 2.

The full House will elect their speaker when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced his candidacy for speaker after the midterms.

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