Thune, Jordan emerge as Republican minority leaders for next US Congress

WASHINGTON: Republicans chose US Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday (Nov 10) to lead them against a Democratic-controlled Congress that will take power in January for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency.

A week after Republicans lost their majority in a stinging midterm election defeat, Senate Republicans chose Thune by acclamation at a closed-door meeting for the task of trying to thwart Democratic initiatives that do not meet with their approval, including by wielding the Senate filibuster.

"We're not going to be running this place next year," Thune told reporters. "But you can be assured we will be very, very active in asserting conservative priorities in all of the legislating ... that goes on here."

Jordan's election as House minority leader elevates a combative Trump ally to the forefront of the party’s fight to defend the US president’s agenda in the lower chamber. Jordan defeated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in a secret ballot. House Speaker Mike Johnson opted not to stand for the leadership position.

The House and Senate leadership elections will help to determine what role Republicans intend to play as the minority party in Congress during the final two years of Trump's presidency.

Democrats will need Republican support to move major initiatives in the 100-member Senate, where the filibuster rule requires 60 votes for most legislation. Their majorities in both chambers also fall well short of the two-thirds of votes needed to override presidential vetoes.

Thune, 65, a South Dakota Republican known for his consensus-building leadership style, is respected by Republicans and Democrats alike. But he has run afoul of Trump's MAGA supporters who say he did not move aggressively enough to enact Trump's policies on immigration and election reform.

After the midterm elections, Thune vowed that Republicans would work with Trump to block "Democrat extremism" and work against any attempt by Democrats to unwind Republican achievements, including border security and judicial appointments.

Jordan, 62, was first elected in 2006 to represent a deeply conservative rural district in northern Ohio and was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group that former Republican House Speaker John Boehner labelled "legislative terrorists".

Before entering politics, Jordan honed his pugilistic style during a career as a high school and university champion wrestler, and later as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University.

That past threatened his political career in 2018 when former students accused him of turning a blind eye to rampant sexual abuse of college wrestlers by the wrestling team's doctor, when Jordan was an assistant coach.

Jordan denied all allegations, and a university investigation found no hard evidence that he knew of the abuse. But former wrestlers said the doctor's abuse was well-known and the report itself found that students had complained about the doctor's voyeurism in front of coaching staff.

Jordan has often referred to his wrestling background in terms of his reputation as a fighter in Congress.

He is known for his aggressive style of questioning in committee hearings.

"I look at it like a wrestling match," Jordan told the New York Times in an April 2023 interview, explaining how he prepares for hearings. "I'm going to try to get as ready as I can. You can't just wing it."