Senate GOP rebellion fizzles as Thune keeps power despite historic midterm massacre

There was neither an exodus nor a mass housecleaning in the Senate GOP leadership, despite frustration and rumblings of discontent among some lawmakers reeling from last week’s devastating midterm losses.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., secured another term as the top Republican behind the closed doors of the Old Senate Chamber, where lawmakers charted their course for their few remaining weeks in power and beyond.Thune's victory comes after a cohort of Republicans led by Sen.Ron Johnson, R-Wis., demanded that the Senate GOP pause its scheduled leadership elections to debrief on their stunning midterm losses.GOP SENATOR WITHHOLDS SUPPORT FOR THUNE AS LEADERSHIP SHOWDOWN LOOMSSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., talks with reporters in the Capitol Visitor Center on Nov.

9, 2026.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc.

via Getty Images)The night before, Thune was adamant that he’d still run but was unsure of the outcome."That's the hope," Thune said when asked if he had the Senate GOP’s support."You never know right until they vote."Before the vote, Johnson and a handful of others believed there should be a shakeup in leadership, but didn’t offer an alternative to Thune."After the stunning defeat, you just can't continue on business as usual," Johnson said.

"I mean, that kind of defeat demands change."When asked if he’d be interested in running, Johnson said, "That’s part of the problem.Would you want it?"SENATE GOP REBELS MOVE TO DELAY LEADERSHIP VOTE, DEMAND RECKONING AFTER MIDTERM DISASTER"I think there's a number of people with talent," Johnson said.

"Again, I'm not — at a minimum, we need to see out of our leadership team what's the strategy moving forward, and you can't come off of a defeat like that and just ram through elections and oh yeah, ‘let's just elect that leadership team by acclamation.’"Sen.Rick Scott, R-Fla., had previously run for leader twice and most recently against Thune.

But the lawmaker, who joined Johnson’s crusade for ch...