Thune reelected as Senate GOP leader after brutal midterm losses

Washington — Senate Republicans reelected Sen. John Thune as their leader on Tuesday, staying the course as they prepare to enter the minority after the party's brutal midterm losses, which saw at least seven Senate seats fall to the Democrats.

Senate Republicans backed Thune for another two years as leader by acclamation, or without opposition, after meeting behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber for much of the day. 

Thune, 65, is a South Dakota Republican who was first elected leader after the 2024 elections. He's been in the Senate since 2005 and took the helm two decades later, after working under Sen. Mitch McConnell as the No. 2 Senate Republican. 

Well-liked by his conference, there was little doubt that Thune would remain leader. But a last-minute push by several conservative members to delay the elections added a wrinkle. 

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin led the push to delay the vote after the disastrous midterm results for Republicans. He secured signatures from a handful of his colleagues — Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah — to compel a conference meeting ahead of Tuesday's elections. But the effort to delay any further fell short.

Johnson told reporters that Senate Republicans "just can't continue on business as usual" after a "stunning defeat" at the polls.

"I mean, that kind of defeat demands change," Johnson said, when asked whether new leadership was needed.  

But Johnson conceded that there wasn't a clear alternative to Thune. He argued that Senate Republicans at least needed to hear from their leadership team about the strategy moving forward. 

After meeting behind closed doors for two hours Tuesday morning, and reconvening later in the afternoon, Johnson told reporters that "this has never been anything against John Thune."

"I think he has been very unfairly attacked by our base," Johnson said. 

For his part, Thune appeared sympathetic to the efforts to regroup, and he acknowledged that the decision over whether to delay selecting their leaders would ultimately come down to members.

"I think in the end, I think it's important that for purposes of moving forward, that we get some of these issues settled as soon as possible," Thune told CBS News on Monday. "We'll see what our members think tomorrow."

Thune's reelection as leader comes after he led Senate Republicans as they passed the president's massive tax, border security and defense agenda, swiftly confirmed the president's nominees, and approved a handful of bipartisan priorities over the last two years. At the same time, his tenure was marked by two record-breaking government shutdowns, and a White House that often moved out of step with Republicans in Congress. 

Some Republicans were critical of Thune's record, arguing that the GOP agenda wasn't aggressive enough. Conservative frustrations came to a head over the SAVE America Act, a controversial election bill that President Trump repeatedly pushed. Thune made clear that the legislation did not enjoy enough support in the upper chamber to move forward. 

Ahead of the election, Thune pushed back on the criticism about the Senate GOP agenda, telling CBS News, "I don't know how you could be more aggressive." And he defended Senate Republicans' record, while acknowledging that there were factors beyond their control. 

Senate Republicans had entered the midterm cycle with a map that initially looked favorable, offering few pickup opportunities for Democrats. But GOP candidates across the country were routed as cost of living concerns and the war in Iran took center stage, and expanded the map for Democrats. The Senate GOP lost seats in battleground states like Ohio and North Carolina, along with Republican strongholds like South Carolina, Kansas and Texas. Two Senate contests — Alaska and Mississippi — remain unresolved, and could yield more victories for Democrats.

Thune, in his first floor speech since the midterms, said, "There is no doubt about it, Tuesday night was a tough election night." He said the election results gave Senate Republicans "an opportunity to reflect on what we as a party need to do better" and "a clear message that this coming Congress needs to double down on the work that we've been doing on affordability."