South Dakotan’s could hold two powerful positions in the Nation’s Capital
Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday that he will end his record tenure as Senate Republican leader at the end of the year.
Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 ranking Republican, is a favorite to take his place. Thune, 63 and in his fourth term, told reporters that McConnell’s departure leaves “big shoes to fill,” but did not campaign for the job. He said Wednesday was a time to “to reflect on his service and honor him for that. And then we’ll go from there.The Senate is in play in November, and the Republican leader may become majority leader in 2025.
Trump has said Gov. Kristi Noem is on his short list for vice president. A recent CPAC straw poll has Noem and Vivek Ramaswamy tied for first place when asked whom they believed Trump should pick as his running mate for 2024.
“She’s been a great governor,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “She gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement actually. And, you know, it’s been a very good state for me. And certainly she’d be one of the people I’d consider, or for something else maybe. But we have a lot of people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”
“I’m not going to share private conversations that I had with the president,” Noem told The Dakota Scout, “We did have a good meeting yesterday. … I’ve known Trump for years, we worked together when I was in Congress, he’s come to South Dakota, so it was good to visit with him and talk a little bit about 2024
