As former President Donald Trump’s search for a running mate enters the homestretch, Senate Republicans are anxiously awaiting whether one of their colleagues will be tapped for running mate.
Trump’s pick could come in the next couple of days after he told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he’d announce his nominee for vice president “probably before” the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee.
“I haven’t made [a] final decision. But I have some ideas as to where we’re going,” Trump said in the interview that aired on Monday night.
Trump’s search for a running mate appears to be focused on Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND). Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) may also still be in the mix.
Vance told reporters he had not received word on whether he was going to be Trump’s running mate on Tuesday.
“I’m going to be here this week,” he said in response to questions about whether he was planning to hit the trail with Trump over the next couple of days.
As Trump zeroes in on a choice, some Senate Republicans are openly advocating a candidate, like Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
“I think Doug Burgum would be awesome. He’s my governor, I think he brings tremendous depth, he’s been a great surrogate on the stump, talking about his work with Trump when he was president and Doug was governor,” Cramer said, speaking with the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “I think he’s been a great advocate for not just energy but for economic policy in general.”
The two-term governor has traveled frequently with Trump on the campaign trail and went to Manhattan to attend and support Trump during his trial where he was convicted of falsifying business records related to a payment to a porn star.
“He’s been a great advocate for Donald Trump, articulate, he goes deep and drills down,” Cramer said. “Donald Trump is a good brander and marketer, and I think Doug Burgum puts meat on those bones in a very convincing way.”
Most other GOP senators the Washington Examiner spoke with on Tuesday were not openly advocating for a specific VP choice.
“I’m watching real closely and I think the three of them that have been declared would do a great job,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said of Bergum, Vance, and Rubio.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who recently huddled with Trump to discuss policy issues ahead of the first presidential debate, also did not openly endorse any of the picks.
“He’s got a lot of great options,” Schmitt said. “I’ve got good relationships with the senators that I think are being most considered and like I said, he’s got a lot of great options. It’s a good problem for him to have.”
Beyond the VP picks, there’s speculation that Trump could be considering a number of Senate Republicans for top spots in his Cabinet if he were to win the general election in November.
The potential to scoop talent from the Senate is a departure from 2016 when Trump focused his attention on the House. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) was tapped for interior secretary, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) was chosen for health secretary, and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) served as CIA director and then later secretary of state. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was the only one from the upper chamber picked to be attorney general.
However, the Senate has previously been a place presidents look to when assembling their Cabinet. More than 40 senators have resigned their positions to take Cabinet posts, according to the Senate Historical Office.
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There’s been some buzz that Trump could look to Rubio for a Cabinet post if he does not select him as a running mate. Also high up on the list of Republicans who could be considered for a second Trump administration are Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who previously served as the ambassador to Japan, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), an Army combat veteran who is currently running to join Senate GOP leadership and Schmitt, a former state attorney general.
“I would be honored to be considered in that capacity, but I love serving the people of my state in the Senate, and I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself,” Schmitt said when asked about the potential of serving in a future Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Cramer openly advocated Senate Republicans to stay in the upper chamber if Trump were to win the White House for a second time.
“I personally think unless you’re at the end of your Senate career, the Senate is a better place to make a bigger difference,” he said. “But, if somebody aspires to that and they pick them for whatever reason, there are some great ones.”
“Whether it’s a guy like Tom Cotton, with his incredible knowledge of intelligence, foreign relations, armed services — obviously he would be a great secretary of state, secretary of defense; there are others as well — but I like all my friends staying right where they are,” Cramer said with a laugh.
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Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the No. 4 House Republican, has also been talked about as a potential Cabinet consideration. However, some Republicans on Capitol Hill are cautioning their colleagues about counting their chickens before they hatch.
“It’s far too early to be even thinking about this,” an adviser to a Republican senator who asked to remain anonymous in an effort to reflect candidly on the topic said. “We need to be clearly focused on winning the election — then we can start to consider which senators would make great Cabinet members.”
