by Misty Severi
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson obtained the five signatures he needed Friday to request a meeting of the Senate Republican Conference to discuss postponing next week’s leadership election in light of the midterms.
Johnson made the request after Republicans lost at least seven seats in the upper chamber in Tuesday’s midterms and after President Donald Trump’s adviser Alex Bruesewitz questioned whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune should remain the GOP leader next year, according to The Hill.
No Republican has publicly sought to challenge Thune for the role so far.
It is not clear when the new meeting would take place, but conference rules instruct Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito to call a meeting of the group whenever requested to do so in writing by five or more colleagues.
The Senate Republican conference is already scheduled to meet next Tuesday morning to vote on its new leadership team.
The request also comes after Republicans attempted to delay the leadership votes in the 2024 election, in which Republicans flipped control of the Senate by picking up four seats. If elected leader, Thune would become Senate Minority Leader next term.
“Over the last two years, Senate Republicans have put up a strong record of accomplishment that’s created safer streets, more money in Americans’ pockets, and new opportunities for families and businesses to get ahead. After fighting Democrat obstruction at every turn, we prevented the largest tax hike in American history, secured our border in an unprecedented way, confirmed the president’s Cabinet at the fastest pace in two decades, and put strong conservative judges on benches across the country faster than we have since the Reagan administration,” Thune said on social media.
“I’m proud of our team and everything we’ve done for the American people, and I’m looking forward to the important work we have in front of us over the next few months. As we head into 2027, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done. Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism. We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream,” he added.
– – –
Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
