A social media put up on a comparable dialogue had attracted greater than 4.7 million perspectives, 25,000 reposts, and greater than 4,000 feedback as of Monday evening.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) didn’t be expecting to motive a countrywide ruckus when he casually stated right through a Nov. 8 late-night dialog with Turning Level USA’s Charlie Kirk that Vice President-elect JD Vance is also the brand new Senate Majority Chief.
A couple of hours later, Kirk shared Lee’s remark with media entrepreneur Glenn Beck on his BlazeTV program and pointed to an difficult to understand precedent for the speculation from the country’s earliest days.
“John Adams presided over the U.S. Senate as Senate Majority Chief 200 years in the past as Vice President of the US. I believe JD Vance will have to be President of the Senate and change into Senate Majority Chief. Sen. Mike Lee got here up with this in a 1 a.m. telephone name from him final evening, and he had me at ‘hi,’” Kirk informed Beck.
Upon listening to the speculation, Beck stated, “I’m in love with that, I’m in love with that. I stated the opposite day I didn’t know if that was once even conceivable with JD, however he can be incredible.”
Glenn Beck talking on the Values Voter Summit in Washington on Feb. 3, 2022. Gage Skidmore
Lee later clarified that he wasn’t suggesting that the vice chairman may just occupy a 2d elected place.
“What I used to be looking to say isn’t that he will be the elected majority chief consistent with se, however that any vice chairman—particularly one of the crucial similar birthday party as controls the Senate—may just finally end up because the de facto chief of the bulk birthday party,” Lee informed The Epoch Occasions in a Nov. 9 interview because the nationwide hubbub persevered.
The U.S. Charter assigns to vice chairman the position of the Senate’s presiding officer.
Lee’s level that Vance might be able to serve as because the de facto GOP Senate chief whilst additionally pleasurable his constitutional tasks as the higher chamber’s presiding officer is permissible underneath the Charter, in line with Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Basis.
“An assertive vice chairman has the power to exert a substantial amount of affect over what’s going on within the Senate if his birthday party is almost all and he has the cooperation and help of the nominal majority chief. However this can be a subject of inside politics inside the GOP caucus as as to whether a vice chairman can serve as because the efficient majority chief,” von Spakovsky informed The Epoch Occasions.
If Vance, or every other sitting vice chairman, have been to prevail, she or he, given their insider “get entry to to data on what the more than a few government department departments are doing … can be a a lot more robust majority chief than a senator who’s a majority chief,” von Spakovsky stated.
Senate regulations additionally stipulate that, so long as she or he is actually within the chair, she or he controls the ground of the Senate and, running with a cooperative majority, can successfully decide what the higher chamber does or does now not do.
“It wouldn’t be specifically a laugh if the vice chairman have been prone to do this as a result of it could come with a large number of tedium, however I nonetheless suppose there’s a lot that may be won from it,” Lee informed The Epoch Occasions.
Republican vice chairman nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) speaks to newshounds on the Pennsylvania Conference Heart in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Occasions
Lee’s remark got here at the easiest time to draw nationwide consideration as a result of former President Donald Trump and his working mate Vance received the Nov. 5 presidential election whilst Republicans regained keep watch over of the Senate when the 119th Congress convenes on Jan. 3, 2025.
This Wednesday, the higher chamber’s GOP individuals will meet in the back of closed doorways within the U.S. Capitol to elect by way of secret poll the successor to Senate Majority Chief Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the longest-serving congressional birthday party chief in trendy American historical past.
Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Thune of South Dakota are formally competing to prevail McConnell, who has led the higher chamber’s GOP convention since 2007, as Senate Majority or Minority Chief.
Scott challenged McConnell for the location two years in the past however garnered best 11 votes. Cornyn was once McConnell’s deputy right through President Donald Trump’s first time period within the White Space, whilst Thune has been McConnell’s deputy right through President Joe Biden’s tenure within the Oval Workplace.
All 3 of the applicants in quest of to prevail McConnell have publicly pledged to give a boost to Trump’s legislative time table, despite the fact that Thune had stated the incoming leader government will have to “keep out” of the race for majority chief. Trump hasn’t recommended any person for the location.
Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas). Andrew Harnik; Samuel Corum; Joshua Roberts/Getty Pictures
Lee will host a Candidate Discussion board on Tuesday night to present Cornyn, Scott, and Thune the chance to make their case to the attending lawmakers. With 3 applicants, the primary vote casting on Wednesday will get rid of certainly one of them, with the winner being made up our minds in a 2d vote casting at the two ultimate applicants.
Vance resigned his Ohio Senate seat to make approach for his successor, Republican Senator-elect Bernie Moreno, to take the oath of workplace when the brand new Congress convenes. The vice president-elect can have served best two years of the six-year Senate time period to which he was once elected in 2022.
Trump and Vance might be inaugurated on Jan. 20.