Incoming Majority Leader Thune Unveils Senate GOP Committee Assignments

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) after the Senate Republican leadership election in Washington on Nov. 13, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Dec. 20 released the list of names of Republican senators who will be assigned to committees in the forthcoming Congress.

A news release from Thune’s office said the assignments “have been ratified by the Senate Republican Conference and are expected to be ratified by the full Senate early next Congress,” which is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has eight committee assignments, leading all Republican senators. Many of the senators have about three to five assignments each, although Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) each have six, while Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has seven.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who attempted to seek the Senate GOP leadership spot during an internal election last month, received five assignments. He released a statement on Saturday saying Republicans will be “well positioned to advance President Trump’s agenda” and will hold “adversaries, like Communist China, Russia and Iran fully accountable; and standing for freedom and democracy in Cuba, Venezuela and all of Latin America.”

Republicans were able to gain a majority in the Senate during the Nov. 5 elections after flipping seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia. They will hold a 53–47 voting majority in the upper chamber, with Vice President-elect JD Vance—who as vice president will be the president of the Senate—serving as the tie-breaking vote if need be.

The GOP last won a majority in the Senate during the 2018 election, and since then, Democrats have had narrow majorities in subsequent elections until this year’s contests.

Earlier this year, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is serving out the remainder of a term that ends in 2027, announced he would no longer seek the Senate GOP leadership position. Thune, who serves as his No. 2, won the leadership race on Nov. 13.

After President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, the Senate will be faced with confirming the president-elect’s nominations for key Cabinet positions, including for the heads of the State Department, Department of Defense, Department Health and Human Services, Department of Education, the Department of Energy, and more.

Aside from the confirmations, Thune said earlier this month that Republicans want to pass sweeping measures on the border and energy.

“We also are prepared to take care of the people’s business in this country and move forward with an agenda that will help get the country back on track when it comes to the economy, when it comes to energy, when it comes to national security, when it comes to the border,” he said in a statement.

The South Dakota Republican added that his party is planning “a pretty aggressive schedule in terms of the number of days we’re going to be here,” noting that the upper chamber will also consider a farm bill and the National Defense Authorization bill.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill this month that Republicans will try to pass a border security package under the budget reconciliation procedure within 30 days of Trump being sworn into office.

“We’ll give it a whirl,” he said. “I think we want to start out with getting that border secure.” The longtime senator also said that the GOP wants to also lower energy costs and help the military.