With Trump's unified government almost a certainty, the ability of the Democrat party to oppose Trump's agenda will be limited to bureaucratic resistance, court fights, and actions taken at the state level. His mandate is unquestionable, and even the left seems subdued at the moment, with only minor protests taking place in the most liberal of cities across the nation.
Where Trump will have to fight is within his own party. Establishment figures are keen to slow Trump's agenda, even if in the moment they're making nice to preserve their role in the new administration.
Enter the fight for Senate Majority Leader. Three candidates have emerged -- Jim Thune, John Cornyn, and Senator Rick Scott of Florida. Both Thune & Cornyn have abysmal scores from the conservative trackers like the Heritage Foundation Scorecard. Thune rings in with a thunderous F, with only a 34% alignment with conservative principles int his last session. Cornyn is not much better at 35%. Rick Scott, on the other hand, has a 92% score in the last session. His only departure from conservative orthodoxy was his vote to allow funding to flow to Ukraine, which given the political climate might be understandable.
Departing majority leader Mitch McConnell was a staunch adversary of Trump, and both Cornyn and Thune are widely seen as his lieutenants in waiting, although Cornyn appears the current favorite to take the seat.
Rick Scott would definitely be the conservative choice, however. His nearly unwavering support for Trump's agenda matches the popular mandate that Trump holds. Scott's control of the gavel would ease Trump's path to legislative victories, with minimal struggles between "Never Trump" figures in the leadership.
Trump has backed Scott in the past, but has wisely taken the option of remaining silent in the fight for the Speaker's gavel. Tradition holds that the vote is taken in a closed-door session by secret ballot, with minimal outside influence from the executive branch. Justifying this tradition is a need for Senators to work together after the election is done, where outside posturing or an open ballot might lead to interpersonal conflicts that could harm the operation of the chamber throughout the session.
While some figures, Tucker Carlson in particular, have called for an open ballot, tradition matters in the Senate, which has at its core a firm reputation as the deliberative body of the Congress, with a need for compromise and bipartisanship to facilitate action. Allowing a modicum of cover provides a way for Senators who are at odds from a political viewpoint, even within the GOP itself, to continue to work together without rancor.
What is not out of bounds however, is for the American people to contact their Senators and encourage them to take the more conservative approach. Rick Scott should be the next Speaker, and it's up to us to make that happen.
Ultimately, its up
