By Rick Manning
This week the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to choose their leadership after Republicans won majorities in the Senate and House in the 2024 elections and President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House, securing the trifecta for the GOP for the first time since 2016.
The Senate sees three men vying for the Majority Leader position, replacing Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who is stepping down from leadership. Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) are all campaigning to replace McConnell to lead the new Senate Republican majority.
Scott has the support of many top conservatives with the Conservative Action Project writing: “Senate Republicans need bold leadership that will not be influenced by special interests inside and outside of the Senate. Sen. Scott is a new, strong, courageous leader who will bring change to the Senate and to our country. He will lead the charge to support the Trump agenda in the Senate. We urge all conservatives to support him.”
Senators Thune and Cornyn each have significant experience in Senate leadership each having served as Whip to McConnell’s Leader role in the past.
President Donald Trump has decided to sit out the race after receiving promises that the Senate will go into a recess early in their session to allow him to temporarily appoint (recess appointment) his Cabinet and other choices to get them in place while the Senate decides whether to confirm them.
The President-elect argues that in 2017, it took more than a year to get many of his top picks confirmed slowing the ability of his administration to hit the ground running. Now, he is urging the Senate to go into recess so that he can constitutionally put his team in place on an interim basis pending confirmation.
On the House side, Americans for Limited Government has endorsed the current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying: “Speaker Mike Johnson kept the GOP House majority through his tireless work, record-setting fundraising and steady leadership over the past year. The Speaker has continually articulated and fought for conservative values, and is the right person to help President Trump keep his promises to the American people. Americans for Limited Government urges the House to re-elect Mike Johnson to the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Speaker Johnson has earned this position over the past year and is the right person to continue this very tough job.”
The challenges of governing with a very slender majority are many as the GOP House and Senate conferences are not unified on many policy positions. However, with an experienced President Trump in the White House, there should be a much more conservative tilt on spending issues that have caused havoc in bringing together the GOP House majority.
Time will only tell, but Americans for Limited Government will be in the fight for cutting the size and scope of government during this historic opportunity to pass major funding changes without needing to overcome a filibuster using the Budget Reconciliation Act process.
Rick Manning is President of Americans for Limited Government.
