On Wednesday, Republicans elected a fresh slate of leaders ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) took home the Senate GOP conference chair position, defeating Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for the coveted spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton defeated the Iowa Republican in what was the only contested race for a GOP leadership position that was not to become the new leader of the conference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will replace John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who will take over as No. 2 leader in the conference as whip after Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) was term-limited.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen.\u00a0Shelley Moore Capito\u00a0(R-W.Va.) won an uncontested race to become the No. 4 Senate Republican, keeping her hold on a post in GOP leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Capito served the previous two years as the No. 5 Senate Republican and was vice chairwoman of the Senate GOP Policy Committee. She will now be chairwoman of the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) formally joined the Senate Republican leadership team on Wednesday, having won an uncontested bid to become the vice chairman of the Senate GOP Policy Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lankford ran unchallenged for the position and will replace Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who moved up to become chairwoman of the committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As vice chair, Lankford is chiefly tasked with keeping the minutes at the weekly Tuesday policy luncheon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen.\u00a0Tim Scott\u00a0(R-S.C.) will take over as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and helm the campaign efforts for the 2026 cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott won the chairmanship on Wednesday and ran uncontested for the post. He replaces Sen.\u00a0Steve Daines\u00a0(R-Mont.), who steered the party to a potential 53-seat majority and four flipped seats during the 2024 cycle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me to protect and grow our Republican majority,\u201d Scott said. \u201cWith President Trump in the White House and Republican leadership in Congress, help is on the way for the American people. Donald J. Trump proved that when we fight everywhere with the TRUTH, we win. That is why we must secure a Republican Senate for all four years of the Trump administration, and that work starts today!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Wednesday, Republicans elected a fresh slate of leaders ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) took home the Senate GOP conference chair position, defeating Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for the coveted spot.\u00a0 Cotton defeated the Iowa Republican in what was the only contested race for a GOP leadership position that was not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1013,1431,1432,162,587,15],"class_list":["post-8145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-james-lankford","tag-senate-leadership","tag-shelley-moore-capito","tag-tim-scott","tag-tom-cotton","tag-trump-administration"],"yoast_head":"\n