All The Times Incoming Republican Senate Leader John Thune Criticized Trump In Public

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans elected South Dakota Senator John Thune to serve as their majority leader following the 2024 elections, in which the GOP reclaimed a majority in the upper house of Congress.

63-year-old Thune will replace Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. He beat out both pro-MAGA Sen. Rick Scott and Sen. John Cornyn to win the role.

In the past, Thune had been incredibly critical of President-elect Donald Trump. As the discourse around incoming Senate leadership commenced, past comments and concerns raised by Thune regarding Trump have begun to resurface, causing the senator to face renewed scrutiny regarding his commitment to the Trump administration.

Sen. Thune had previously voiced an unwillingness to support Trump's bid for the presidency, stating that he is "hoping we get other options."

Thune had repeatedly stated that he does not believe Trump is fit for the presidency. In October of 2016, one day after the release of a 2005 Access Hollywood tape in which the then-presidential candidate could be heard speaking about women in a derogatory way, Thune called on Trump to withdraw as the Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election with just a month until election day.

A few days later, Thune said Trump leaving the race for the presidency would be the "best solution."

"I intend to support the nominee of our party and if anything should change then I'll let you know," Thune told KELO News in South Dakota. "But he's got a lot of work to do, I think, if he's going to have any hope of winning this election."

Following the 2016 election, Thune sat down for an interview with CNBC's John Hardwood, in which he expressed disapproval at a number of Trump's purported policy goals.

"The immigration issue in the past has been, you know, is a difficult one to work through," said Thune, confirming to Hardwood that he was not in favor of "deporting 11 million people."

"And I suspect that that would be where a lot of my colleagues are on that particular issue," he added.

Thune was further critical of the 45th President following his impeachment trial in February of 2021. Thune released a statement condemning Trump's actions despite officially voting to acquit him of incitement of insurrection.

"The impeachment trial is over and former President Trump has been acquitted. My vote to acquit should not be viewed as exoneration for his conduct on January 6, 2021, or in the days and weeks leading up to it. What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable," said the statement from Thune.

In the 2024 Republican primary, Thune endorsed Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina instead of Trump.

The President-elect was pushed by advisors to attempt to block Thune from assuming the role of Senate majority leader due to his past criticisms of Trump, reported the New York Times. Proponents of Trump, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, opted to back MAGA-supporting challenger, Sen. Rick Scott, for the role.

However, Thune won with 29 votes. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas followed close behind, at 24 votes. Scott was easily eliminated after the first round of voting, receiving only 13 votes.

Thune has expressed a willingness to establish the Trump administration's cabinet as soon as possible, urging his fellow Senate Republicans to act quickly.

"One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president's cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we've been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments," the senator told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

"We cannot let Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats block the will of the American people," he continued.