He Republican Party began the search for the leader of its caucus in the United States Senate after winning a parliamentary majority in last Tuesday’s election, which will be key to approving initiatives of the next administration of Donald Trump.
Republicans plan to elect a replacement next Wednesday. Mitch McConnell82 years old, who has been leader of the party in the Senate since 2007 and who announced last February that he would leave this post after the elections.
Three candidates presented themselves: senator from South Dakota John Thune; currently charged with maintaining electoral discipline among Republicans; that of Texas John Cornyn; who has held leadership positions in the past, and that of Florida Rick Scott.
Scott, re-elected last Tuesday, proposed himself this Sunday as a good candidate for this position because he says he is capable of reaching agreements with the Democratic opposition.
“For many things we need 60 votes in the Senate. So we need to have someone sit down with the Democrats and say, ‘How can we balance a budget, how can we do these things?'” he said in an interview with the network. FOXNews.
John Cornyn said on social media Saturday that his first priority would be to ensure that the Senate ratify the members of the new cabinet of Trump.
“There will be no weekends or breaks. Democrats can cooperate for the good of the country or maintain resistance that will eventually fail. Choose what you want,” he said.
To become leader, one of the candidates must obtain the support of a simple majority of his colleagues and, if none arrives in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is rejected for the second vote.
The “favorites”
Thune and Cornyn They are considered the most likely successors from McConnell because they have more experience leading the party, but both broke with Trump in the past and then had to make peace with him.
Scott, loyal to the New York tycoon and favorite of some members of the hard wing, tried two years ago to impeach McConnell and become leader of the Republicans in the Senate, but failed.
Trump has not publicly intervened in the race and will stay away for now, Republican sources told the network. NBCNews.
Republicans took control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections after four years of opposition and, pending the conclusion of the vote, they hold the majority of the House with 53 places against 46 for the Democrats.
