Contests for Senate Majority Leader and the suddenly open position of Republican Conference Chairman in the House of Representatives headline the GOP leadership elections on Capitol Hill this week, with an open fight for both positions .

Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota, along with former whip John Cornyn of Texas and Florida Sen. Rick Scott, are vying to succeed current leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is currently serving minority leader and has been at the top of the party. GOP leadership hierarchy since 2007.

As the number two looking to advance, Thune could rightly be considered the favorite, even though there has been outside pressure from businessman Elon Musk and other prominent supporters of the president elected Donald Trump in favor of Scott, who is considered the favorite. the insurgent candidate of the three. Scott chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2022 campaign cycle, when Republicans lost a Senate seat, and subsequently challenged McConnell’s leadership for the current Congress. He is a recurring critic of leadership.

“As Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the Senate to advance this agenda legislatively and ensure that the President-elect can get on track with confirming his nominees as soon as possible,” Thune wrote on Fox News. notice piece. “The Senate Republican majority will work with President Trump to ensure that the Senate schedule allows us to confirm his nominees and pass our shared agenda as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Outside support may not be a big factor in a secret ballot election with a constituency of just over 50 senators and senators-elect. A local Fox reporter subsidiary in Nashville, Tennessee, reported that a protest is expected Tuesday outside Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s office against the secret ballot. The election itself is scheduled for Wednesday.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., currently chairman of the Republican Conference, is running and is expected to face no opposition for the whip position in the next Congress. This opens the current place of Barrasso, which Axios reported over the holiday weekend, he was set to take on Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas in what was a competitive race against Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa.

House Republicans, who, according to the Associated Press, are poised to control all 218 seats needed to maintain control of the chamber next year, will likely again support their current top leaders. But Trump’s victory and his subsequent decision to announce that he would nominate Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as ambassador to the United Nations opened up Stefanik’s current leadership role as conference chair.

Stefanik said Monday that she would withdraw from her leadership re-election bid, sending a letter to that effect to her beloved colleague. Elections for Republican leadership in the House of Representatives are also expected on Wednesday.

The Stefanik news, while not unexpected, sparked a frenzy among Republicans seeking the new seat at the leadership table.

“With the mandate the American people gave President Trump and my Republican colleagues on Tuesday, we need to get results now more than ever,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said Monday. announcing his offer.

Other contenders include Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, the current conference secretary, as well as Indiana Republican Rep. Erin Houchin.

“The role of the conference president is not to be in the spotlight; it’s about amplifying the voices of our members and providing them with the tools they need,” Houchin said: boast his candidacy over

Assuming a majority is achieved, current Louisiana Speaker Mike Johnson will likely gain support from his fellow Republicans for the position in the 119th Congress, although the role is a constitutional position elected by the full House . With what is expected once again by a slim Republican majority, Johnson will once again have to rally the votes and ensure the presence of his members to keep his position, the election of the president being scheduled for January 3, when the new Congress will vote oath. .