Thune disagrees with delaying leadership vote, but calls for 'robust' discussion on GOP's future

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday opposed delaying the Republican leadership contest, but endorsed a "robust" conversation among lawmakers about the party's path forward.

Several Republicans have called for delaying the leadership contest in the wake of devastating midterm losses, but Thune, who is expected to remain Senate Republican leader, said he doesn't think a delay "solves anything," according to Semafor's Burgess Everett.

Thune did, however, say he would hear the arguments for a delay and asserted the need for a "robust conversation about where we go from here."

The Senate leader has long faced pressure from the conservative base over his unwillingness to alter Senate rules to pass the SAVE America Act, a marquis voter ID bill that has languished in the upper chamber.

That issue has led to public spats with President Donald Trump, who called for him to fire the Senate Parliamentarian to pass the bill by a simple majority.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.