Senate Republicans are bracing for the biggest leadership shake-up in nearly 20 years after the Nov. 5 elections no matter which party controls the upper chamber.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) preplanned departure from his post as the longest-serving Senate party leader sparked jockeying within the conference for coveted seats at the leadership table, positions that will undoubtedly raise lawmakers’ national profiles.
“I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name,” McConnell, 82, said earlier this year in announcing his scheduled exit as leader. “It is time for the next generation of leadership.”
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Senate Republicans will choose McConnell’s successor, as well as other positions within the conference, via secret ballots the week after the Nov. 5 elections when Congress returns for the first time since late September. Committee assignments and chairs will be decided at a later date.
Senate Democrats, who face far fewer changes to their leadership rungs but will undergo their own game of musical chairs at the committee level, are expected to hold their elections in early December.
Only those serving in the next Congress and senators-elect are allowed to vote; retiring senators will not participate.
Here’s how Senate leadership posts and committee chairs for both parties could transform.
GOP Leader
Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) and Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL) are gunning for the top spot. Scott will capture a sizeable chunk of the most conservative wing of the conference but is the underdog to longtime members Thune and Cornyn.
Republican operatives and staffers give Thune a slight advantage but say the race is still extremely close between him and Cornyn. Both have served extensive stints in leadership and been fundraising juggernauts for candidates this cycle.
Cornyn has raised $26 million for GOP senators and Senate nominees this cycle and north of a whopping $400 million since 2002. Thune, who’s been crisscrossing the country and has headlined some 200 events for candidates and the party, has raised $31 million this cycle for the GOP.
GOP Whip
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Republican Conference, is running unopposed for the No. 2 spot to replace Thune as whip.
GOP Conference Chair
Barrasso’s No. 3 spot is being sought by No. 4 GOP Policy Chairwoman Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). Ernst is favored to win.
GOP Policy Chair
Fifth-ranked Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is also looking to move up a rung by ascending to Ernst’s spot as GOP conference chair. Capito is running unopposed.
NRSC Chair
Current National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) confirmed he had no plans to emerge as a dark horse candidate for GOP leader. He also isn’t vying for another cycle as head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
That leaves Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former presidential candidate who was on Trump’s VP short list, likely to be unopposed for NRSC chair. Scott’s White House run elevated his national profile, which he’s used to campaign and fundraise for Trump and GOP Senate candidates across the country.
“The senator is grateful for the encouragement he has received from colleagues to run for chair of the NRSC,” Scott adviser Nathan Brand told the Washington Examiner. “He is working tirelessly to send Donald Trump back to the White House and take the U.S. Senate, then looks toward to growing the Republican majority in 2026.”
First-term Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Katie Britt (R-AL) expressed initial interest in the job but did not ultimately pursue it.
Committees
Majority control will determine whether the top Democrat and Republican on each panel are chair or ranking member.
With Barrasso’s ascent to the No. 2 whip spot, conference rules require him to relinquish his role as the top Republican on Energy and Natural Resources. Sen. James Risch (R-ID) is next in seniority but is expected to keep his top GOP spot on Foreign Relations, likely making Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) the top Republican on Energy.
Senate Republicans vote by secret ballot for their top-ranking member and do not have to abide by seniority but typically do so anyway.
“I don’t expect [Republican] senators to buck the trend,” a senior Senate GOP staffer said.
Senate Republicans also have a six-year term limit for its chairs in the majority and the same cap for ranking members in the minority.
That’s why Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), should the GOP retake the majority, plan to swap their top posts on the Judiciary and Budget Committees, respectively. Graham would become Budget chairman and Grassley would take over Judiciary.
Grassley, already the chamber’s oldest senator at 91, would also become third in line to the presidency as Senate President Pro Tempore. The oldest member of the majority party is traditionally selected for the role.
“Should Republicans take back the Senate majority, Senator Grassley looks forward to serving as President Pro Tempore and continuing to deliver on his conservative record as chairman of the Judiciary Committee,” said Grassley Communications Director Clare Slattery.
Senate Democrats
Senate Democrats’ leadership team is largely staying put, resulting in fewer shake-ups among its ranks. But the same cannot be said at the committee level.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will remain his party’s leader. His No. 2, Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), will keep his role and his spot as the top Democrat on Judiciary, Durbin’s office confirmed.
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Policy and Communications Chair
Third-ranking Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is retiring from Congress after nearly three decades. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), both former presidential candidates, are top contenders to replace her as the Democratic Caucus’s policy and communications chair.
DSCC Chair
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), another past presidential contender, is vying unopposed to become chairwoman of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Gillibrand recently hit the trail to campaign for battleground colleagues Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA), both facing “toss-up” reelections.
“Senator Gillibrand has offered to serve as chair of the DSCC for the 2026 cycle, but is currently focused on her reelection campaign and on helping Leader Schumer and [DSCC Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI)] hold the Senate,” Gillibrand spokesman Evan Lukaske said. “She has also spent her time building an unprecedented coordinated campaign in New York that will help flip competitive congressional seats and take back the House.”
Committees
With several chairmen up for reelection in vulnerable races or retiring from Congress, Senate Democrats could see a massive shift in their committee assignments next Congress.
Stabenow is chairwoman of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Klobuchar would be next in line to be the top Democrat, but she already chairs the Rules Committee. Neither party allows members to chair two committees simultaneously. That means the spot would likely go to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Also heading for the exit doors of Capitol Hill are Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD), Environment and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE), and Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV), who caucuses with Democrats.
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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is line to be the top Democrat on Foreign Relations. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) or Jeff Merkley (D-OR) could take over Environment, although Whitehouse would have to give up his Budget gavel. And next in line for Energy who doesn’t already chair another panel is Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) face nail-biter reelections in red states. Their ousters by Republican challengers would add an extra layer of musical chairs for Democrats in the committee rooms.
