Senate Republicans have reelected John Thune of South Dakota as their leader, keeping the entire GOP leadership team in place as the party prepares to surrender its majority.

The closed-door vote took place Tuesday, November 10, just one week after Republicans suffered major midterm losses that cost them control of the Senate. Thune, who became majority leader in January 2025 after succeeding Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, will serve as minority leader when the new Congress convenes.

The decision came despite objections from several Republican senators who argued that the conference should delay its leadership elections and conduct a more extensive review of the party's election losses before selecting its next leadership team.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson organized an effort to postpone the vote, joined by Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida and John Kennedy of Louisiana. Their letter called for Republicans to discuss what went wrong in the midterms, hear from potential leadership candidates and establish a strategy for the next Congress before holding elections.

Sens. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Jim Banks of Indiana also supported delaying the contests. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley questioned the decision to retain the existing leadership without first determining whether the party needed a different direction.

Supporters of holding the elections Tuesday argued that Republicans needed to establish their leadership team and begin preparing for the transition to the minority. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford had previously said Thune had widespread support within the conference and backed holding the vote while newly elected Republican senators were already in Washington for orientation.

Thune will now lead Senate Republicans as they prepare to operate without control of the chamber for the first time since January 2025. The party's leadership decision comes as Republicans face questions about their midterm performance and how they will respond to an emboldened Democratic majority.