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The new Senate GOP leader walks a MAGA tightrope: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur looks at how newly elected Senate Republican leader John Thune's relationship with President-elect Donald Trump will quickly be put to the test. Plus, the latest on Trump's Cabinet nominations and JD Vance's vision for the vice presidency.

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The new Senate GOP leader walks a MAGA tightrope

By Sahil Kapur

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was elected to be the next majority leader Wednesday in a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans, replacing Mitch McConnell as he steps down from the top job after a record 18 years.

The victory by Thune, a well-regarded institutionalist, shows that while the Senate Republican Conference has grown more aligned with President-elect Donald Trump with each successive election, it hasn’t transformed into the MAGA entity that the House GOP has become.

An online army of Trump supporters mobilized to push for the underdog candidate, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., seeing him as the most loyal among their options. Not only did the effort fail, but some GOP aides told NBC News it also backfired and sparked a negative reaction among senators. The secret-ballot nature of the vote made them less susceptible to outside pressure and was a true test of how Republicans feel.

But Scott was knocked off on the first ballot, getting the fewest votes of the three contenders. That teed up a head-to-head race on the second ballot between Thune and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a fellow long-serving institutionalist. Thune and Cornyn have both climbed their way up the ladder and broken with Trump in some areas in the past, including over Jan. 6 and his false claims about a stolen election.

The most revealing part? Trump himself didn’t get involved in the race. Before the vote, Thune cautioned Trump against it on CNBC, saying: “I think it’s probably in his best interest to stay out of that.”

Neither Thune nor Cornyn endorsed Trump in this year’s GOP primaries. But both of them backed him in the general election after he coasted to the nomination. And after Trump’s decisive general election victory, all three candidates ran for the post on a platform of advancing his agenda.

“This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today,” Thune said in a statement after he was elected.

Still, in his first post-election news conference, he promised that Senate Republicans would preserve the legislative filibuster on his watch — the 60-vote threshold that Trump repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, pressured GOP senators to eliminate during his first term. Republican senators overwhelmingly agree with Thune about that.

And the competing dynamics within the Senate GOP will quickly come to the fore again, as Thune and his members will oversee the confirmation process in the new year for Trump’s Cabinet selections. Already, several of those picks — GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general, Democrat-turned-Republican former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and former National Guard member and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary — have drawn reactions ranging from surprise to bafflement.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Gaetz’s prospects of getting confirmed were “a long shot,” adding that it’s “very possible” Trump is testing the limits of how far he can push the Senate.

Meanwhile, over in the House, Republicans unanimously voted to nominate Mike Johnson of Louisiana for re-election as speaker in January, with the endorsement of Trump.

NBC News projected Wednesday that Republicans would maintain control of the House, meaning voters officially handed Trump and his party all the levers of power in Washington. But a majority that is likely to be slim once again will pose challenges for the party — especially as Trump pulls from the House GOP’s ranks for his Cabinet.

Trump transition watch

Outside of Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth, Trump has announced several other personnel moves over the past 24 hours.

Trump selected tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy to head up a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” fulfilling a campaign pledge to give Musk sweeping oversight of government spending.
But Musk’s near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago in the week since Election Day has begun to wear on people who’ve been in Trump’s inner circle longer than he has and who see him as overstepping his role in the transition.
Trump said he would nominate John Ratcliffe to be CIA director. Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas, was director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term.
Trump announced that William McGinley will be his White House counsel. McGinley, a longtime presence in Republican legal circles, was Cabinet secretary during the first Trump administration.
And special counsel Jack Smith and his team plan to resign before Trump takes office. Smith’s office has been evaluating the best path for winding down its work on the two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump, as the Justice Department’s long-standing position is that it can’t charge a sitting president with a crime.

Loyalty, trust and a ‘hammer’ for Trump: A preview of Vance’s vice presidency

By Henry J. Gomez

JD Vance has said little about his vision for the vice presidency other than to mention a few areas of policy interest, like immigration. As a candidate, he stuck faithfully to Trump’s script, filling in the blanks when necessary but rarely overstepping the man whose endorsement lifted him out of a crowded Republican Senate primary field in Ohio in 2022.

Those who have watched his rapid ascension expect that dynamic to continue, even if and when Vance prepares to run for president in 2028. Allies of Trump and Vance believe loyalty is Vance’s greatest attribute and his smartest play for the short-term future of their administration and for his longer-term political future.

“He will focus on any issues that the president directs him to do,” said a source familiar with the Trump-Vance relationship.

Vance’s unshakeable allegiance to Trump has been his calling card since his well-documented conversion from Trump critic to champion, and their bond tightened as running mates. They speak by phone daily and at all hours. After he voted on Election Day near his home in Cincinnati, Vance told reporters about the 3 a.m. phone call he had missed from Trump a few hours earlier. Trump was headed home from his final campaign rally, but Vance was already asleep.

Vance is seen within Trump world as a savvy political operator who, while he may have defined policy views, isn’t an ideologue, a campaign official said. Those close to Trump don’t see Vance as someone who would expend political capital to pursue an agenda that runs counter to his. What best serves Vance’s political ambitions, this official said, would be a successful Trump administration free of infighting in which he can shine.

One piece of Vance’s portfolio could build on his constitutional role as president of the Senate, which Republicans will control next year and where he typically will be needed only to cast tiebreaking votes. Vance will be Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the chamber, the source familiar with their relationship said.

“JD,” the source said, “wants to be a hammer for Trump in the Senate.”

🤝 Return to the Oval: Trump returned to the White House for the first time since he was voted out of office to meet with President Joe Biden for a ceremony meant to signal a peaceful transfer of power. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-host-trump-white-house-symbolic-peaceful-transfer-power-rcna179619">Read more →</a>
🗳️ Not over yet: Pennsylvania’s Senate race is heading to a recount, which the narrow margin between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey triggered automatically under state law. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/pennsylvania-senate-race-heads-recount-rcna179776">Read more →</a>
☑️ Latest race calls: The next Congress will include two House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, with NBC News projecting that Reps. David Valadao of California and Dan Newhouse of Washington have won re-election. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/two-republicans-voted-impeach-trump-jan-6-return-house-rcna179904">Read more →</a>
📺 Split ticket: In the four battleground states where Vice President Kamala Harris lost but Democratic Senate candidates won, a split emerged in their messaging strategy. While Harris and her outside allies focused on plans for the future, the down-ballot candidates focused significant ad time on touting their accomplishments. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-won-4-big-senate-races-states-harris-lost-ads-looked-differe-rcna179668">Read more →</a>
🙅 Stage one: Republican Eric Hovde is refusing to concede defeat in the Wisconsin Senate race, casting doubt on the results despite a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing in last week's election. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/republican-eric-hovde-refuses-concede-wisconsin-senate-race-rcna179891">Read more →</a>
💲 Inflation watch : Price growth ticked higher in October as voters began casting ballots in a presidential election in which economic concerns played a big role. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/progress-inflation-likely-stalled-now-rcna179872">Read more →</a>

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at [email protected]

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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