John Thune elected Republican majority leader in the US Senate

Photo: Kent Nishimura Getty Images Agence France-Presse Senator John Thune, at a press conference on Capitol Hill, July 30

Agence France-Presse in Washington

Published yesterday at 12:40 PM Updated yesterday at 1:29 PM

• United States

John Thune was elected leader of the Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday, replacing the tenor Mitch McConnell, in office for 17 years.

The senator, from a rather traditional Republican line, notably beat Rick Scott, the candidate supported by the Trump galaxy and the billionaire Elon Musk, in a secret ballot.

The elected representative from South Dakota said he was “extremely honored” by his victory.

“This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda and our work begins today,” he said in a statement, before receiving congratulations from Elon Musk, who supported his rival.

In this position, John Thune will be responsible for leading the Republicans, strong in their new majority in the Senate after the November legislative elections. He will also have to deal with Donald Trump, who demands absolute loyalty from his troops.

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Aid to Ukraine

The election of John Thune, elected to the American Senate since 2005, marks the end of the McConnell era.

Leader of the Republicans since 2007, this expert in the mysteries of power found himself in this capacity on the front line of the fight against the policies of the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama (2009-2017), but also to support Donald Trump, who came to power in January 2017.

In recent years, Mitch McConnell has also distinguished himself as one of the greatest defenders of American aid to kyiv, forced to deal with a party shaken by Donald Trump and adopting increasingly isolationist positions.

John Thune also supported these gigantic envelopes released by the American Congress for Ukraine. However, he has not made it known whether he would continue to fight for new funds with Donald Trump in power.

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McConnell, the “Gravedigger”

With his old-fashioned suits that looked like they came out of a 1970s wardrobe, Mitch McConnell had always cultivated an austere, even rustic image that was matched only by his reputation as a political strategist.

For years, he greedily claimed the nickname “Gravedigger,” accustomed to burying the hopes of his Democratic opponents.

In the upper house of Congress, he worked tirelessly to promote a conservative agenda, including the appointment of Supreme Court justices who in 2022 overturned constitutional protection for abortion.

Under President Joe Biden, he also worked on several major projects supported by both gone.

For several months, however, concerns had been raised about the health of the Republican leader, who suffered two long absences in one month in the summer.

In March, the octogenarian senator was hospitalized after a fall during a private dinner, which left him with a concussion, a broken rib and nearly six weeks off work.

The episode immediately revived criticism of the aging of the American political class, sometimes described as a gerontocracy.