John Thune won the Senate election in 2004, defeating the powerful Democratic majority leader, Sen. Tom Daschle. faced a deadly threat to his political future.
He bounced back from the effort, saving Ellsworth Air Force Base, a financial institution in a largely rural state, and learning valuable lessons that helped him keep his job and advance in the Senate.
Now, South Dakota Republicans have risen to the top and become majority leaders in the new Congress convening Friday, but once again face early challenges and major threats to their political standing.
This time, Thune’s task is to reconcile the demands of President-elect Donald J. Trump, the competing desires of 53 Republican senators, and a formidable legislative agenda. It begins with shepherding the loaded Trump nominees to confirmation in the closely divided Senate. In the Senate, Democrats cannot afford to lose even three Republican votes if they unite and maintain opposition.
At the same time, he intends to use tricky maneuvers to circumvent the filibuster and pass legislation that combines border security, military spending, and energy production, which would require serious legislative finesse. And he hopes to do that in the first month or so, while also recalibrating the manner and frequency of Senate proceedings.
It’s a no-brainer for the 6-foot-4 former All-American basketball player and genius pheasant hunter, who turns 64 in just a few days.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from neighboring North Dakota who is backing Thune for leadership, said, “I’m just saying he has a lot of interests to balance to solidify his credibility.” ”, he said, noting that his colleagues had never lied to him.
Those around Mr. Thune say that his heartbreaking loss in the 2002 Senate race, his momentous campaign against Mr. Daschle two years later, and the subsequent fight to save Mr. Ellsworth had hardened Mr. Thune and made him politically uneasy. He says he educated them about reality. But he had already developed a strong tolerance for losing when he played basketball for a high school team in his small hometown of Murdo, South Dakota, and then at Biola University, a private Christian college in California. He was showing disgust.
“His competitiveness was just insane,” said his brother Tim. He shared a bedroom with him in his 800-square-foot home and played basketball on a hard dirt court in the garden. “He always wanted the ball. In clutch time, he wanted the ball.”
Thune seriously considered running for president in 2012 but decided against it and considered retiring from the Senate in 2022. But he succumbed to the urging of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Kentucky Republican and party leader, and the temptation of a future vacancy. As Mr. McConnell stood aside, Mr. Thune decided to stay put and said he was willing to continue working, even if it was “hard, uncomfortable, difficult.” Not popular. ”
Despite deciding to stay, it was impossible to replace McConnell, who had led the party for 18 years, and he faced a stiff challenge from Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. Like Mr. Thune, Mr. Cornyn also served as Mr. McConnell’s No. 2 for a time and was thought to have more political acumen.
But when McConnell was absent due to health issues in 2023, Thune got a brief test run at the top, and his colleagues liked what he saw. He has spent months raising money and campaigning for Senate candidates, pledging to be a consensus builder and offer a different approach to McConnell’s top-down, closed-door leadership style. He won the second vote, a result interpreted by many as a sign that Senate Republicans want a leader willing to at least distance themselves from Mr. Trump.
Now one of his opponents is also looking forward to Mr. Thune taking over.
“I’m optimistic,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida. He finished a distant third in the leadership race and had a notoriously poor relationship with McConnell. He described the new leader as a “likeable person” and said, “We will work together.”
But Mr. Thune’s affable nature has some senators privately worried that his desire to be liked will get in the way. Senate leadership requires the ability to make harsh statements that offend others, and senators fear that his determination to avoid angering colleagues or getting slammed on social media could work against him. I’m concerned.
His supporters say Mr. Thune can handle toughness, although they acknowledge that his temperament is very different from Mr. McConnell’s.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s shrewd. He can make tough decisions when he needs to,” his brother said. “Criticism is something he has learned to accept. He will handle it and if it is legal and valid, he will learn from it.”
Mr. Thune’s least favorite person may be Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump was incensed by Mr. Thune’s past criticisms of his own conduct and was furious that the second-ranking Republican in the Senate did not support his challenge to the 2020 election results and vote to confirm them. result. (Thune himself chose not to contest his 2002 Senate defeat by just over 500 votes, saying it would have divided the state.)
Trump unsuccessfully pursued a primary challenge against Thune in 2022, branding him a RINO, a “Republican in name only” slur, the most serious insult in MAGA circles. It is. Meanwhile, Thune supported South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott in the Republican presidential primary, but aligned himself with Trump after securing the nomination.
Since then, he has taken steps to mend his relationship with Trump, including making a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s private resort in Florida. The two appear to have settled into a working relationship after Trump backed away from the leadership race despite pressure from some advisers to block Thune. What’s more, Trump has also come to recognize Thune’s benefits, Cramer said.
“I’ve spoken to Mr. Trump several times since John was elected leader,” Cramer said. “He likes himself a lot. He likes the way he presents himself. He likes the way he looks on TV. I think he considers him a bit of an unexpected asset. ”
Still, keeping Trump happy will be a never-ending task. Earlier this week, the president-elect warned Senate Republicans against allowing Democrats to whitewash the confirmation process.
“Republicans, be smart and tough!!!” Trump, who has little patience or understanding of the complexities of the parliamentary process, urged on his social media sites.
Mr. Thune’s political allies insist he can handle Mr. Trump.
Former South Dakota Governor Dennis Dugard said, “President Trump has a difficult time reading the atmosphere and is certainly impulsive, but John has seen that and has seen President Trump in action. “I’ve been dealing with President Trump for years,” he said. He first met Thune during the 1996 campaign for the state’s only U.S. House seat, when the relatively unknown Thune upset the state’s lieutenant governor and launched his legislative career. he said.
“John will treat President Trump the same way he would treat anyone else,” Daugaard said. “He’s going to be realistic. I don’t think he’ll overpromise.”
Thune has made important promises about how the Senate will operate under his watch, with senators working for a full week, as opposed to recent years when they worked from Monday night to Thursday afternoon. I promised to work. He also said recent leaders of both parties have sought to limit political exposure by limiting the number of senators to vote, bringing more bills to the floor and allowing amendments to be contested. He said he intended to do so.
New leaders in Congress often talk about restoring “normal order,” but their promises become politically dangerous, prompting complaints from their colleagues as they try to leave the Capitol to raise money. That promise will be broken. Mr. Thune seems determined to stick with his guns.
“One thing I can say about next year is it’s going to be different,” Thune told reporters in December. “The way the Senate operates today is not the way it will operate in the future. We aim to fix that. And it’s time to get the job done for the American people.”
