The leadership vote is slated to take place in the coming days.
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday publicly offered at least one condition for the next Republican Senate majority leader: they must agree to make recess appointments for Trump administration officials.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday, responding to the forthcoming Senate leadership vote.
He noted that such votes can take “two years or more,” which is “what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.”
“We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” he wrote.
Aside from the request, Trump also said that Republicans should not confirm any judges in the coming months before his inauguration “because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership,” adding that “THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”
Republicans last week took control of the Senate and are projected to keep their majority in the House, producing a full sweep of GOP power in Congress alongside Trump in the White House. This Republican trifecta in Washington could make it easier for the Trump administration to execute its agenda.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the current No. 2, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who held that job before Thune, are the front-runners in the secret ballot to replace Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also set to run, and another candidate could still jump in.
McConnell is stepping aside from the post in January after almost two decades as leader. The winner for succession could steer the direction of the party for years to come.
Whether Trump endorses one of the contenders could become a determining factor.
“I don’t know what he’ll do,” Cornyn said of Trump in September. “But this is obviously an election between senators, and I think that’s where the voters are.”
So far, Trump has not publicly weighed in on any of the leading Senate majority leader candidates.
