Senate | John Thune replaces Mitch McConnell as Republican leader

(Washington) John Thune was elected leader of the Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday, replacing 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, in a secret ballot.

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

“This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s program and our work begins today,” he assured in a press release, before receiving congratulations from Elon Musk, who nevertheless supported his rival.

In this position, John Thune will be responsible for leading the Republicans, with 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.

Aid to Ukraine

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

Leader of the Republicans since 2007, this fine connoisseur of the mysteries of power had found himself 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, came to power in January 2017.

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

John Thune, 63, also supported these gigantic envelopes released by the American Congress for Ukraine. However, he did not say whether he would continue to fight for new funds with Donald Trump in power.

McConnell, the “Gravedigger”

With his old-fashioned suits that look like they came from a wardrobe from the 1970s, Mitch McConnell had always cultivated an austere, even rustic image that is 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 adversaries.

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

Under the presidency of Joe Biden, he also worked on the passage of several major projects supported by both parties.

In recent months, however, concerns have been raised about the state of health of the Republican leader, victim in the summer of two long periods of absence in one month.

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 against the aging of the American political class, sometimes described as a gerontocracy.