Elon Musk is quickly becoming a central player in Trump’s interim cabinet and seeks users’ opinions on the future of the Republican Party on his X platform.
The Tesla CEO stepped up his involvement Sunday by asking his 204 million X followers who should be the new Senate majority leader.
With Republicans having regained a 53-seat majority in the Senate, current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will lose his gavel to the opposition when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2025.
And since Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, 82, dropped out of the race for the seat in February, three leading contenders have emerged to replace the veteran GOP leader.
They include Rick Scott of Florida, John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas.
In Musk’s survey of XScott was by far the favorite to become the next majority leader, with 66 percent of the votes from X users.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked his 204 million followers on X who they think should become Senate majority leader now that Republicans have 53 seats.
Senator Rick Scott of Florida has become a favorite of MAGA supporters, winning Musk’s poll with a large majority
The next most popular option was “other,” at 22 percent, suggesting nearly a quarter of respondents want someone else to take charge.
Thune, with just 6 percent of the vote, had a slight lead over Cornyn, who only had 5.1 percent support.
Scott is the favorite among the MAGA world, even though Trump himself dismissed Scott’s offer as “not serious.” axios reported days after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Despite Trump’s recent comments, Scott has been considering the role of majority leader since March.
And the MAGA-focused media also seems to share the president’s distaste for the Florida senator.
Charlie Kirk, a popular right-wing podcaster and founder of Turning Point USA, gave your full support to Scott on Saturday.
‘The people who just gave Donald Trump a broad mandate don’t want Thune or Cornyn to lead the US Senate,’ Kirk wrote in X. ‘They want Rick Scott. It’s very clear.’
So did conservative influencer Benny Johnson.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota (left) and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas are believed to be the establishment’s picks for the important leadership post.
Right-wing influencers Charlie Kirk (left) and Benny Johnson advocated for Scott to become the next majority leader.
‘A vote for Rick Scott is a vote to end Mitch McConnell’s anti-Trump rot in the United States Senate. McConnell is the most unpopular politician in America for a reason,” Johnson wrote in X.
He continued: ‘This is a moment of American renewal. Thune and Cornyn are a continuation of McConnell’s utter failure.
Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, he told his 14.5 million followers call their senators’ offices if they want to influence the leadership race in Scott’s favor.
‘Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand public support for Rick Scott,” Carlson wrote in X.
Carlson claimed that Thune, 63, and Cornyn, 72, “hate Trump.”
His beef with Cornyn appears to be stronger, with Carlson calling him an “angry liberal whose policies are indistinguishable from those of Liz Cheney.”
Scott, whose offer is still considered a long shot by insiders, managed to score an important support from Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee.
Tucker Carlson also thinks Scott should become Senate leader
Hagerty believes Scott will be best suited to “work hand-in-hand with President Trump to advance his America First agenda.”
Scott also garnered endorsements from Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is endorsing Cornyn, much to the agitation of MAGA supporters.
‘I am endorsing John Cornyn for majority leader. Over the past two years, no one has done more than him to win back the majority,” Hawley said in a statement. “He tirelessly raised millions of dollars for competitive Senate races, including mine.”
So far, two senators, one privately and one publicly, have backed Thune’s bid to lead the upper chamber.
Sen. Steve Daines of Montana is reportedly urging other Republicans to cast your vote in favor of Thunewhile Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said Thune “will be a great leader.”
“I think we have a real winner in John Thune,” Rounds added.
Senators Steve Daines and Mike Rounds support Thune’s bid to become leader, although Daine’s endorsement comes from behind the scenes.
Trump can likely influence the leadership fight with public support, but he appears reluctant to do so.
Thune himself urged the president-elect not to step on the scale, the hill reported.
Scott joined María Bartiromo’s Fox News program Sunday to plead his case, touting his private sector experience and his “excellent” working relationship with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“I’ve built companies my whole life,” the former Florida governor said. “I built the largest hospital company, I built a variety of manufacturing companies, I ran the state of Florida.”
The election of the new majority leader will take place Wednesday morning.