WASHINGTON — A looming battle among Senate Republicans over who to choose as the next majority leader is turning into an early test of the power President-elect Donald Trump’s “MAGA” movement will wield in his second term.

The three-way fight to replace outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pits Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., against Sen. John Cornyn, McConnell’s former lawmaker, and the underdog candidate , Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

The battle will test the resistance of longtime senior Republicans, rooted in an institutionalist vision of the Senate, like Thune and Cornyn, against an emboldened pro-Trump wing that seeks to shatter all vestiges of the old Republican Party in its return to office. power.

Scott is seeking to claim the latter role and told NBC News in an interview Monday that he would push “the Trump agenda” if elected.

“I talk to all my colleagues, and they are clear about what they want and know we need to change. They want to be treated as equals, to be part of a team. They know I have a great relationship with Trump and the Speaker of the House, and that I’m a businessman. And I will advance Trump’s agenda,” Scott said.

Online MAGA influencers have launched an online pressure campaign aimed at sinking current and former McConnell lawmakers — and boosting Scott — ahead of a candidates forum Tuesday and a closed-door election expected Wednesday.

Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson said Scott is the “only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump” and said the other two contenders “hate Trump and what he ran on.” (Thune and Cornyn have criticized Trump in the past, but both have supported Trump this year.)

Billionaire Trump’s benefactor Elon Musk also approved Scott, saying Monday: “The new Senate majority leader must respond to the will of the people. »

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of Trump’s top allies on the Hill, encouraged senators to elect Scott to the post. “The Republican conference should choose a leader who represents the people, not like it has for decades,” Greene said in a statement to NBC News.

But it is far from certain that the campaign will succeed. The Senate is a notoriously insular body, relatively detached from populist fervor, granting its members six-year terms and generally operating according to seniority. It would be unusual for Scott to beat out two colleagues who have worked much longer, cultivated deeper relationships, and who have each paid their dues to continue their work.

Most importantly, the election will be conducted by secret ballot. Unlike votes on laws and appointments – as well as voting for House speaker – votes for Senate leadership are anonymous. This means that relationships will be paramount and the pro-Trump online army will not know how members voted.

“It’s a strong online presence that ultimately doesn’t translate into votes in the Senate,” said a Senate Republican aide, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the dynamics of the race . “And senators are reacting negatively to that.”

Most notably, Trump himself did not weigh in, with all three candidates seeking to show their bona fides in support of Trump.

Scott called Trump in May to ask for his support in the leadership race, which he said he would appreciate, and his goal is to pressure Trump to announce his support before Wednesday’s election , according to two people familiar with his thinking.

In interviews since Election Day, Scott has said he and Trump communicate via text message.

But Scott was coy when NBC News asked him Monday if he thought he had Trump’s support.

“I appreciate anyone’s support. He endorsed me in 2022 in my race against Mitch McConnell,” Scott said.

Asked if he was seeking the president-elect’s endorsement, the senator replied, “I’m not going to talk about private conversations.” »

“Thune’s race to lose”

Scott is less popular among his colleagues than Thune and Cornyn; in 2022, he received just 10 votes when he unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for the top job.

Thune and Cornyn have well-established relationships as conference leaders and have both donated time and money to help elect the new Republican majority this year.

“This is Thune’s race to lose,” said Mike Davis, a pugnacious Trump ally who previously served as a top aide to Senate Republicans.

But Davis said the price of admission for the job will be advancing Trump’s agenda.

“Senate Republicans – especially Senate Republican leaders – must understand that the American people put President Trump back in the White House with his “America First” agenda. And any candidate for leadership of the Republican Party who disagrees with that should step down,” he said.

Scott, who just won a second six-year term, said in an interview that his victory in Florida shows that Republicans don’t need to moderate their views.

“We never moderated our positions and we continued to win,” Scott said in an interview Friday. “Now, if you look at the country, we are the center of the Republican Party. …The whole country is moving in our direction.”

Even before last week’s election, Scott had research to become a bridge between House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his GOP Senate conference and push Mitch McConnell out of the picture. And with Republicans on track to maintain a narrow majority in the House, Scott sees his connection to Louisianans as an advantage in the leadership race.

A handful of sitting senators have publicly supported him: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Some of them, like Rubio, Hagerty and Tuberville, have been offered senior positions in the Trump administration.

And of the three senators vying to succeed McConnell, Scott was the only one to give an interview to the Sunday shows this weekend, where he touted his “close relationship” with the speaker during a Sunday interview on Fox News.

The interview and online MAGA campaign were intentional moves aimed at projecting a flood of support for the newly re-elected Floridian and putting pressure on Thune, who is considered the front-runner.

Trump did a public request: The next GOP leader should support his ability to make “recess appointments” to temporarily install staff without Senate confirmation.

“I have spent eight months listening carefully to my colleagues about their vision for the next chapter of the Senate Republican Conference, particularly while we are on the ground with President Trump,” Thune said in a statement to NBC News. “One thing is clear: we must act quickly and decisively to put the President’s Cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to begin fulfilling the mandate we have been charged to carry out, and all options are on the table to achieve this. occur, including playtime appointments. We cannot let Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats block the will of the American people.”

Cornyn sworn that if Democrats block Trump’s nominees, “we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent.” Additionally, the Constitution expressly grants the President the power to make appointments during recess.

Scott, meanwhile, replied to Trump on X: “100% agree”.