Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors: On November 5, the American people sent a resounding message to Washington, DC, that the status quo has to change. The Biden-Harris agenda was rejected overwhelmingly, and the American people set a new agenda for the nation.
The nation chose President-elect Donald Trump to serve in his second term as president— only the second president chosen in nonconsecutive terms (the other being Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States).
The country also chose to give the Republicans the majority in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. This week, Senate Republicans came together to select our leadership for the Senate Republican Conference for the 119th Congress, which begins on January 3.
I was honored to be chosen by my colleagues to serve in the new Senate leadership as the Vice Chair of our Republican Conference. This position will allow me to have greater ability to speak into the issues we face nationally and to share some good Oklahoma common sense in the leadership meetings.
Senator John Thune of South Dakota was selected to be the new Majority Leader. Senator Thune had one of the highest voting percentages in the entire Senate when the President was in office four years ago. He and President Trump have a good working relationship already.
In addition to Majority Leader Thune and my position as the Vice Chair of the Conference, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming was selected to serve as Majority Whip. Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas was selected to serve as Senate Republican Conference Chair. Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia was selected as Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair, and Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina was selected to chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
I will work with my colleagues on Senate leadership to find ways we can defend and strengthen our nation and continue to lead us to prosperity. The new leadership team literally met to start organizing for next year less than 24 hours after we were elected to the new roles.
As soon as the Senate takes the oath of office, January 3, we will immediately begin the work on the President’s nominations, tax policy, budget, government efficiency and energy security. With so much to do, we cannot start the session divided. The American people gave President Trump a mandate and a Republican Senate to get big things done, not to fight each other through the press.
I received many calls just before the leadership elections from people who encouraged me to support President Trump’s choice for the new Senate leader.
To be clear, President Trump never shared his preference for the new leadership in the Senate. If the President had a preference, I have never known him not to share it publicly. However, after the election, President Trump posted a very kind statement about John Thune and the whole leadership team in the Senate.