Washington — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s committed to helping Donald Trump “achieve success” when Trump returns to the White House, but Thune said he will convey to the president-elect “what’s realistic” in the Senate.
“We want to get to the same destination, but I think at times, there will be differences in how we get there,” Thune said in an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “And I think I have to spell out as clearly as I can to anybody who asks, what the challenges are in the Senate.”
Thune stressed that the Senate, with a new Republican majority, functions differently than the House, where members are faced with reelection every two years. Thune said that “understanding the unique aspects of how the Senate operates is something that I’m going to have to be able to share and convey to the President and help him understand.”
With a Republican trifecta in Washington, GOP leaders have touted a mandate to deliver for the American people on Trump’s agenda outlined on the campaign trail. Thune said he speaks with Trump “fairly regularly,” noting the two men have been in contact since before the election and especially now as they “start charting the path forward” on the Republican agenda.
“We’re working closely with his team now as we start to take control of the Senate now,” Thune said Friday as the new Congress convened. “And hopefully in the next couple of weeks before he takes the oath of office, we’ll have things set up for him, including the opportunity to confirm a lot of his nominees.”
For Thune, who took over Friday as majority leader following Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision to step down after nearly two decades at the helm, among his first priorities will be the confirmation of Trump’s nominees to top administration and Cabinet positions. The Senate’s confirmation process is expected to take center stage when Trump takes office later this month, as the chamber faces pressure to quickly confirm the picks — some of whom have sparked controversy even among the president-elect’s party.
With a 53-seat majority, Senate Republicans have a narrow margin for opposition when it comes to Trump’s nominees. And with a razor-thin GOP majority in the House, both chambers have a precarious path to approving key legislative priorities more broadly — from border security to taxes — making coordination between the president and the two chambers a prime concern.
Thune cited Vice President-elect JD Vance, who has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2023, as a bridge between the upper chamber and the Trump administration, calling him “an incredibly talented person” whom he said has been a “quick study” in the Senate.
“I think he will be somebody who can help the administration, as they work through these issues, figure out what’s realistic, what’s achievable, what we can accomplish here in the Senate, because he’s been here,” Thune said. “He knows it’s challenging in the Senate.”
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
The post Thune says he’ll help Trump understand “what’s realistic” in the Senate appeared first on CBS News.
