Senator John Thune of South Dakota has been elected leader of the Republican Party in the US Senate. He received the most votes during a secret ballot, which also included Florida representative Rick Scott, a politician supported by Donald Trump's inner circle, UNN reports with reference to the BBC.
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Previously, Mitch McConnell was the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, a position he held for the past 17 years.
According to media reports, Scott's candidacy was supported by the world's richest man, the owner of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk, who works closely with Trump and will be appointed to a position in his administration. Scott is considered to be a less traditional politician and a brighter representative of the Trumpian wing of the Republican Party.
However, the senators preferred the familiar Senator Thune, who had been the second most influential Republican in the Senate (after McConnell) for the previous four years.
The publication adds that Trump does not formally interfere in the election of the Republican leader in the Senate, but members of his entourage tried to influence it. Therefore, the election of Thune can be seen as a demonstration of some independence of senators from the future owner of the White House.