Businessman Elon Musk, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, endorsed Republican Senator Rick Scott for U.S. Senate majority leader on Sunday.
Quick Changes
Musk’s endorsement came as Trump pushed candidates for the influential post to help him make changes quickly after his party won control of the chamber.
Seats To Be Held By Republicans In The Senate
Republicans are expected to hold at least 52 seats in the 100-member Senate after capturing three previously held by Democrats.
Current Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has led his party in the chamber since 2007, is not seeking election to the post.
Musk Posts In Favour Of Rick Scott
“Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!” Musk, a tech billionaire who has emerged as a major backer of Trump in recent months, wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
Trump has not yet endorsed anyone in race for majority leader.
Musk is the world’s wealthiest person.
Need For Real Change
Scott, who represents Florida in the Senate, is a former healthcare executive and the wealthiest sitting senator.
In an interview on Fox News on Sunday, Scott said the Senate needs to implement real change.
“We can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” Scott said.
Trump Got Elected To Bring About Change
“That’s what Donald Trump got elected to do, to be the change.”
Trump has said that anyone seeking to be Senate majority leader must agree not to stand in the way of temporary presidential appointments being made when the Senate is not in session.
During Senate sessions, senators exercising their constitutional power to provide its “advice and consent” hold hearings and confirmation votes for presidential appointees such as Cabinet heads of massive government agencies including the Defense Department and Department of Health and Human
Services.
Scott In Agreement With Trump’s Demand
Rick Scott responded on X that he agreed with Trump’s demand, which would enable the incoming president to quickly fill posts, even if only temporarily.
Two other Republican senators vying to lead the body – John Thune and John Cornyn – later posted their
support for Trump’s push to quickly fill appointments.
Trump’s Promises
In his campaign,Trump promised to deport illegal immigrants in the United States, cut taxes, impose tariffs on international trading partners and loosen fiscal policy.
Scott has the backing of several hard-right Republican senators, but it remains whether he can bring Republican moderates to his side.
Senate Republican leadership elections are scheduled for Wednesday.
The outcome of two Senate races – in Pennsylvania and Arizona – has not yet been called by Edison Research.
Control of the U.S. House of Representatives has not yet been decided.
Republicans already have won 214 seats, according to Edison, just shy of the 218 needed to retain their current majority.
If Republicans lead both chambers, it would mean that most of Trump’s agenda would have a much greater likelihood of winning congressional approval.
Partial results show Republicans have a narrow lead in nine of the remaining uncalled House races and Democrats in seven.
This has come out in a New York Times analysis.
Notably, many thousands of votes remain to be counted.
Most of the remaining House seats are in Western states.
Vote tallying in these States typically takes longer than elsewhere in the country.
