South Dakota Senator John Thune—not Senator Rick Scott, the preferred choice of some in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) faction—will be the next Senate majority leader following a vote by Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
Thune, who has been serving as minority whip, has previously criticized President-elect Donald Trump but has supported an overwhelming majority of his policies.
Here’s how Thune has voted under the past two administrations.
Thune’s Voting Record During Trump’s First Term
During President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, beginning in 2017, Thune largely voted in line with Trump’s positions.
In the 115th Congress, from 2017 to 2019, Thune aligned with Trump’s stance just over 95 percent of the time, according to 538, breaking over tariffs, sanctions, and immigration, among others.
In the following session, from 2019 to 2021, the South Dakota senator supported Trump’s positions 88 percent of the time. He broke with Trump over disaster aid to Puerto Rico, government funding, and the National Defense Authorization Act, among others.
His voting record places him in the top half of GOP senators in support of Trump’s agenda. He has pledged to back Trump’s campaign promises of cracking down on immigration, increasing deportations, economic reforms, and increasing domestic energy production.
The month before Trump was elected as president in October 2016, when he called on the then-presidential nominee to “withdraw” from the race, urging that “Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.” Pence served as vice president during Trump’s first presidency.
The senator previously described Trump’s actions “to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power” as “inexcusable,” referring to the 2020 election and subsequent January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump refused to accept his 2020 loss and repeatedly claimed, without substantial evidence, that the election was stolen.
On January 1, 2021, Trump called Thune a “RINO,” Republican In Name Only, and urged South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to run against him in the 2022 primary.
Thune’s Voting Record Under President Joe Biden
Thune was one of the Republican senators who acknowledged Biden’s 2020 win, telling reporters in the weeks after, “At some point you have to face the music. And I think once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everybody to move on.”
Since Biden has been in office, Thune has voted with Biden 35 percent of the time, according to 538. That places him in the top half of GOP senators who have voted in support of some of Biden’s policy priorities.
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