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Donald Trump’s allies have backed Florida senator Rick Scott’s bid to be the party’s new leader in the upper chamber, seeking a loyalist to help push the president-elect’s agenda through Congress.
The pro-Trump former Florida governor is running against senators John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota, both allies of outgoing leader Mitch McConnell. Whoever wins the leadership contest will become Senate majority leader when the next Congress begins in January.
The contest is an early test of Trump and his Maga movement’s influence on Congress as he returns to power. Trump suggested on social media on Sunday that he should be able to bypass lawmakers to speed up appointments, though the practice has not been used since Barack Obama was in office following a 2014 Supreme Court decision.
Senate Republicans are due to vote for their next leader in a secret ballot on Wednesday. The party has already won control of the Senate and is likely to maintain its grip on the House as well, according to the Cook Political Report.
While Thune and Cornyn had been seen as frontrunners, Scott, who has just been elected to his second term in the Senate, has racked up endorsements from some key Republican senators, including Marco Rubio, Bill Hagerty, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul. Hagerty and Rubio are seen as top contenders for cabinet posts in the new Trump administration.
“Any leader of this new majority must be able to work hand in hand with President Trump to advance his America First agenda,” Hagerty said on social media platform X on Saturday.
He added: “That’s why I want to see a Senate majority leader who can join me in embracing the Trump agenda, which will unify Senate Republicans. On Wednesday, I will be voting for Rick Scott.”
Rightwing personalities Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck and Charlie Kirk, billionaire Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr. have thrown their support behind Scott’s bid.
Scott has presented himself as the best candidate to implement Trump’s legislative plan.
“We have got to change the way the Senate is run to get Trump’s agenda done,” Scott told Fox News on Sunday. “I’ve talked to my colleagues. I think everybody realises we need to make a change. So the question is going to be: who is going to make sure we get these things done?”
Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race but weighed in on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, saying that any Republican seeking the post should back recess appointments — made when the Senate is not in session — to allow positions for his incoming government to be filled “in a timely manner”.
He also urged senators to refrain from confirming judges during the lame-duck period between now and January when Democrats still retain a majority.
“No judges should be approved during this period of time because Democrats are looking to ram through their judges as the Republicans fight over leadership,” he wrote.
Allowing recess appointments would essentially bypass Congress and significantly expand the president’s power. Neither Trump nor Biden have been able to make recess appointments during their presidencies because of how the chambers arrange their schedules.
Scott on Sunday came out in support of the practice on X, saying he agreed with Trump and would do “whatever it takes” to get his nominations through quickly as possible.
Cornyn and Thune also suggested they could be open to the tactic.
Thune said on Sunday he would consider using recess appointments to quickly get Trump’s nominees in place.
“All options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,” he said on X.
Cornyn vowed to keep the Senate in session on holidays and weekends if Senate Democrats threatened to block Republican picks and added: “The Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.”
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