Republicans need a “bold Senate GOP leader,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said on Tuesday as three Republican senators — Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-SD), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) — vie for the position of Senate Majority Leader.
Lee on Monday previewed his plans to hold what he described as a “candidate forum for the three senators running to become the next Senate Republican leader,” asking his followers on X which questions they would ask the candidates if they were in the room. Some of the responses included questions such as:
- “If they could only keep 10% of the existing agencies, which would they be?”
- “How do they see the shrinking of the us bureaucrats as a part of rebuilding America? Do they believe in zero based budgeting?”
- “How do you plan to unite the party and prioritize party interests if elected as Senate Republican leader?”
On Tuesday, Lee added, “I hope and expect to hear detailed plans from each of the three Senate majority leader candidates tonight and tomorrow, outlining a clear vision—including what they hope to accomplish and how they plan to go about it.”
“We need a bold Senate GOP leader,” he said. “With detailed plans,” he continued, adding, “Now.”
Scott, Thune, and Cornyn hope to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as many Republicans have long called on the 82 year old to step down from his leadership position, particularly after the botched immigration bill, as well as after his mysterious freezing health episodes last year.
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Scott has emerged as a favorite contender from many top proponents of the MAGA agenda, including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is also advocating for Scott, citing his business sense and a skillset that he believes is simply unmatched.
“In this case now, for President Trump, we need a majority leader that’s going to work hand in glove with President Trump” and not resist the America First agenda, Johnson told Breitbart News Daily.
“That’s why I’m big supporter of Senator Rick Scott. I don’t know anybody in Congress that is more accomplished than Rick — success in business, developed and ran the eighth largest employer in America with Hospital Corporation America, and then transferred those managerial skills to really turning Florida around and setting Governor DeSantis up for success, and he’s been my primary ally in the United States Senate,” Johnson continued.
“I’ve just watched him operate. I mean, he guys — he’s brilliant. I always call him the perpetual motion machine. He just never stops. And so I think he’d be a great majority leader,” he added.
On Tuesday, Scott said he is fighting to “enact President Trump’s agenda.”
Cornyn, meanwhile, has told his fellow colleagues that, “In order to Make America Great Again, we must Make the Senate Work Again.”
Thune on Tuesday said that lawmakers “must prepare the Senate to advance President Trump’s agenda legislatively and ensure that the president-elect can hit the ground running with his appointees confirmed as soon as possible.”