John Barrasso

Senate Republicans reelected their leadership team in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, maintaining the current power structure even as some party members pushed for changes after their losses in the midterm elections.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was reelected to the party’s top leadership slot, setting himself up to take over as minority leader in the new Congress. Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., will similarly take on the same position in the minority.

No one challenged either for their positions.

The rest of the leadership will also remain intact, with the exception of Sen. Bernie Moreno, who was tapped to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans.

The leadership races come exactly one week after Election Day, when Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate, prompting party members to assess where they fell short and how they can realign before the 2028 elections. While some Republicans pointed to the ongoing war in Iran and high gas prices as the main culprits, others wondered whether a change in leadership was necessary.

“After the stunning defeat, we just can’t continue on business as usual,” Sen. Ron Johnson, who led the charge pushing for a delayed election, told reporters on Monday. “I mean, that kind of defeat demands change.”

Thune defended his leadership during the hourslong meeting on Tuesday, telling his colleagues they had done all they could do to mitigate GOP losses in the midterms.

“It’s important that we take the lessons from that and internalize the message the American people were sending to us and focus on the things that really matter to them,” Thune said on Tuesday.

Senate Republicans debated whether to postpone the leadership elections during their meeting, but that effort failed when members voted on a delay, according to senators in the room. That vote was conducted via a secret ballot, so it’s not entirely clear which members were in favor and who were against.

Half a dozen or so Republican senators publicly supported the delay, but none went so far as to nominate themselves for a leadership position — nor did they have alternative candidates in mind.

Still, many lamented what they viewed as complacency from top party leaders.

“If they don’t understand this is a time of change, nothing will make them understand,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said of the meeting on Tuesday. “All I hear is status quo. Same old, same old. I mean, what do they think is going on? I just, I’m astounded by this.”

Meanwhile, some Republicans pushed back on the assumption that the midterm elections were a referendum on party leadership in Washington.

“I don’t think anybody in Texas who voted for the Democratic governor was voting against John Thune,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Tuesday. “So if you diagnose that as a problem, you’re misdiagnosing the problem.”

Moreno appeared to already be taking on the role as NRSC chairman, explaining to reporters his plan to revive Republicans’ posture heading into the next Congress and election cycle.

“I was in the retail automobile business, so when you don’t listen to your customers, your customers punish you,” Moreno said. “I think we have to own it, and I think we have to learn from it, and then dust ourselves up and go out there into the arena and get it done.”

Thune will continue as the majority leader for the remainder of the year, taking on the mantle of minority leader in the next Congress.