South Dakota senator John Thune was elected as the new leader of the Republicans in the US Senate.
In the runoff election for Senate Republican leader, Thune won 29 votes to Texas Sen. John Cornynʼs — 24. And Florida Sen. Rick Scott, favoured by Donald Trump supporters including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, was eliminated in the first round — he got only 13 votes.
John Thune
John Thune has served in the Senate since 2004, and until recently was deputy to Mitch McConnell, the incumbent Republican leader, who held the position for 18 years and decided to leave it.
Tun is considered an experienced legislator. He adheres to more centrist positions and has good relations with most of his Republican colleagues in Congress.
In his previous statements, Thune actively supported Ukraine. In March, when discussions continued on the adoption of a multibillion-dollar aid package for Kyiv, he said that "America cannot remove itself from the world arena."
At that time, Thune called for an increase in arms shipments to Ukraine and emphasized the importance of further support.
"I would rather send weapons, ammunition, etc., and let the Ukrainian people, who really did well against the Russians, win this battle," he said.
- On November 5, Americans elected a president and voted for the composition of both houses of Congress — the Senate and the House of Representatives. Republicans already have a majority in the Senate.
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