Trump endorses Barrasso as next Senate GOP whip

FILE – Former President Donald Trump dances at a rally at Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at Dayton International Airport on Nov. 7, 2022, in Vandalia, Ohio. Trump is heading to Ohio to rally support for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno ahead of the March 19 primary. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, file)

Former President Trump endorsed Sen. John Barrasso to become the next Senate Republican whip, saying the Wyoming lawmaker “will never let you down.”

“John Barrasso is a fantastic Senator for the incredible people of Wyoming,” Trump said in a Thursday evening post on Truth Social.

“He is running to be the next Republican Whip for the Senate Republican Conference, a very important job, to ensure we pass and enact Strong Legislation that puts America First,” Trump added. “I know John very well — he will never let you down.”

Barrasso, the Senate Republican Conference chair, is running unopposed for the whip position. He said last week he’d already secured enough votes to succeed Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who is running to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate Republican Leader.

“They’ve seen the job that I’ve done as chairman of the policy committee, they’ve seen the job that I’ve done now for the last six years as the chairman of the conference in terms of making sure the information they got was credible, reliable, accurate, timely, things that they could use to be successful at home and successful in D.C.,” Barrasso said at the time.

“Overwhelmingly, I’ve gotten the support of every member,” he added.

When McConnell announced last month that he was stepping down as Republican leader, Barrasso, along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thune, were listed among the possible candidates for the top spot in their conference.

However, in a letter to his colleagues, Barrasso said that “[o]ne thing that is clear to me is that the Republicans in the Senate need to break from where we are now.”

“We need change,” Barrasso said. “If elected to serve as your Whip, I will look for greater openness about our process and transparency about your choices. We must put consensus within our Conference ahead of deal-making among a few.”

Tags 2024 presidential election Donald Trump John Barrasso John Cornyn John Thune Mitch McConnell Senate GOP Truth social Wyoming

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.