Less than four days out from the major losses in the midterms, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is urging his fellow Republicans in the conference to take their time in selecting their leaders - in this case, the elections for leadership roles, including Senate Minority Leader, in the new Congress.
Early Saturday morning, Johnson did a sit-down with CBS News, and gave a preview of a letter he and several others wrote, saying in not-so-many-words: not so fast, Senator Thune (R-SD).
Since 1934, leadership elections have occurred about 40 days after an election. Since 2006, that timeline has shortened to just nine days. There’s no reason to rush a leadership election — especially after a defeat. https://t.co/ZIB0vnup5q
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) November 7, 2026
"[Historically,] on average, the elections have occurred about 40 days after the election, the leadership elections. Since 2006, it's been nine days. I personally find that obnoxious. There's no reason to rush into the elections, particularly after a stunning defeat" in the midterms, Johnson said.
The letter, addressed to Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, was obtained by Politico. Johnson, according to the report, "has gathered enough signatures to force the meeting under the Senate GOP’s rules and is proposing the gathering for 9 a.m. Tuesday."
In part, the letter seeking a delay in voting for Minority Leader read: “Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat."
"Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice,” it added.
The full letter can be read here.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) pointed out the rules of the GOP conference, which “contemplate” the election happening after the start of the new Congress.
Senate GOP rules contemplate leadership elections occurring between January 3rd & January 10th. They’ve often been held earlier than that, but perhaps Senate Republicans should assess leadership candidates based on how they lead the conference over the next few weeks while we still have the majority—especially while the full membership of the next conference is still being determined.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) November 7, 2026
Senate GOP rules contemplate leadership elections occurring between January 3rd & January 10th.
They’ve often been held earlier than that, but perhaps Senate Republicans should assess leadership candidates based on how they lead the conference over the next few weeks while we still have the majority—especially while the full membership of the next conference is still being determined.
And here was an anonymous "Senate observer"s comment, according to The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway.
“What Thune is doing by calling a snap leadership election is disgraceful. It’s like the CEO of a publicly traded company — one whose stock value has just plummeted more than it has in a very long time — telling the board of directors that they have to extend his contract another two years, before they’ve even had a chance to hear his plan for how to dig out.” — from a Senate observer.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) November 7, 2026
The post reads
“What Thune is doing by calling a snap leadership election is disgraceful. It’s like the CEO of a publicly traded company — one whose stock value has just plummeted more than it has in a very long time — telling the board of directors that they have to extend his contract another two years, before they’ve even had a chance to hear his plan for how to dig out.” — from a Senate observer.
And as the great '90s philosopher Paula Abdul once observed in her song "Rush, Rush," when people don't take their time with something, drama is the inevitable result.