Thune 'adamant' about Trump support, driving MAGA agenda despite tense past relationship
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., was "adamant" he would carry out President-elect Trump's agenda as leader as he made his case to GOP senators before they selected him to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Wednesday.
"I will just say that Sen. Thune said over and over and over and over in this long meeting that he was 100% behind President Trump — 100% behind his agenda," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
"He was adamant about it."
Hawley noted that he did not vote for Thune, instead publicly endorsing Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
"But I will hold him to that pledge," Hawley said of Thune.
The incoming Republican Senate majority leader's insistence to his conference that he would be a force for Trump's agenda in the upper chamber came as an air of concern existed in Washington, D.C., regarding whether Thune and the president-elect had truly mended their previously fractured relationship.
But Republicans of all stripes expressed degrees of confidence in him to do so after the leadership elections.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., an ally of Trump who publicly backed Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to be the next Republican leader, told Fox News Digital, "I think it's very clear that this is going to be a conference for all of us. He's going to do this by consensus with us."
Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., another top Trump ally, emphasized, "Sen. Thune is very supportive of President Trump and his agenda. And, most importantly, the Senate majority is too. So, I'm very optimistic."
One of Thune's top advocates in the leader race was an early endorser, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who also happens to be close to Trump. "I know President Trump, and I know Thune has personally — they have visited multiple times," he told reporters after Thune won the election.
"They are at a good place with each other. There's no rift between them," Mullin said, adding the two were on "the same page.
"I have no concerns about their relationship at all."
MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Trump never publicly weighed in on the GOP leader race despite a number of vocal figures in his orbit choosing to get behind Scott, who was considered by some to be more aligned with Trump's "MAGA" ideology.
Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, who Trump has said will be a part of his administration, had endorsed Scott and criticized Thune, claiming he was the candidate Democrats were supporting.
While Trump didn't issue an endorsement, it didn't stop observers from speculating he was supporting Scott for the role. However, Trump might have actually been backing Thune in private. Two sources familiar with the situation, including a senator in the room during the leader election, told Fox News Digital that National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Steve Daines, R-Mont., insinuated ahead of the elections that Trump may have been privately backing Thune.
THUNE WINS SECRET BALLOT TO BECOME NEW SENATE GOP LEADER, SUCCEEDING MCCONNELL
Daines gave one of the nominating speeches for Thune before the secret ballot vote Wednesday.
When initially contacted regarding the claims, Daines' office told Fox News Digital he told his Republican colleagues, "Trump likes Thune." After publication, Daines' deputy communications director, Rachel Dumke, denied the senator suggested Trump had been backing Thune.
"This anonymously sourced story is false. Sen. Daines told his colleagues that President Trump likes Sen. Thune, but he never said he endorsed him. If President Trump endorsed in that race, everybody would have known about it," she said in a statement.
Similar criticisms to Musk's were lobbed on social media, in addition to claims Thune would replicate the leadership McConnell showcased during his tenure.
But Mullin argued against these suggestions.
"His leadership is very different," he said. "I mean, Thune is someone that involves the conference before he makes a decision."
According to the Oklahoma Republican, Thune will be involved in engaging the conference like a team and making decisions like a "play call."
"Not everybody may agree with the play call," he warned, "but the majority of the Republicans will be on board before we make a decision to move forward."
Thune's office declined to comment to Fox News Digital.