the house during this congress but ultimately died in the senate. so i think they'll try and move forward with that now that they'll hold control of the senate. and tax cuts will be another big thing to watch out for. and the energy regulation. i think they'll try to cut back on some of that. those are the big things to watch right now. host: you mentioned the republicans talking with trump administration officials. what is the relationship like between speaker johnson and president trump? we know speaker johnson flew from his home district to be at mar-a-lago in time for that donald trump victory speech late tuesday night and wednesday morning. what's it like? guest: we saw leader fly down there and speaker johnson has acknowledged it's been difficult waters for him to navigate given

the slim majority but seems now he's standing fully behind him which should help him in the leadership race. host: a capitol hill reporterhoy on capitol hill. we want to focus on the senate and the 119th congress with the staff writer. we heard from mitch mcconnell yesterday. right now it stands at at least the majority of 52 seats or republicans. could creep up as high as 54, 50 five. what is the difference in the 119th congress of a 52-c republican majority compared to a 55-seat? guest: it is massive. whoever ends up being the majority leader, and for trunk, it will be huge getting their nominees through. it gives you that much more of a buffer than what you have now with susan collins, lisa

murkowski being the moderates, can get you a lot more with the room, room to play with. depending on who trump wants to nominate for secretary of attorney general, some of these other positions -- rfk junior, for example. it is really big as far as trump getting nominees through. the other thing, especially if they get full control of congress, whether they can move through a massive reconciliation package, how easily they can do that, how much push and pull they will have, and tax packages. the bill from 2017, the tax cut bill that paul ryan ushered through, expired by the end of the year. that is top of mind for republicans in both chambers. host: you mentioned leadership, mitch mcconnell, he will not be the majority leader. he is stepping down.

your story in the hill today, the headline, battle to replace mcconnell as gop leader heats up in the final sprint. remind viewers where we are on who will cede mitch mcconnell. guest: three people running. right now, the leaders are john thune, senate minority whip right now, john cornyn, the former whip. they are also joined by rick scott. not really seen as a competitor, probably not going to get to a second ballot. it is really between thune and c ornyn. members like them a lot. there are some key differences in how they would manage the job but it will be interesting. that comes next wednesday the boat. tuesday night, for them on the hill. we will see how this goes. most people think it is thune

with a slight edge but nobody is counting out cornyn. he is a strong fundraiser, has been doing this a long time, has a lot of experience. host: what are john thune and john cornyn's relationship with trump and trump officials, how could that impact what happens in the 119th congress? guest: neither of them for a while had the greatest relationship with president trump but they have worked to repair that over the years. one of the blemishes of john thune is that he was supporting tim scott, working together on tax reform. john cornyn said that he was going to support the former president. but thune has gone out, attracted some of the bigger trump allies on capitol hill. steve daines, privately supporting him, have told members as such.

mullins is another one. he has gone through that, he has met with them, trying to assuage that relationship. cornyn met with him in the past month in nevada when trump swung through texas. they both realize there is work to do on that end because trump could either help them or sink them entirely. host: donald trump's political capital at an all-time high right now. what would happen if trump comes out for somebody like rick scott , who has an established relationship, and rick scott makes no bones with the fact that he is close to trump. guest: it would throw a monkeywrench into things, but at this point i don't think it will happen. unlike most elections, the constituency is maybe 53 people. i don't think rick scott can get a few dozen votes. i think this will come down to

thune and cornyn. remains to be seen if trump weighs in on this. it is anyone's ballgame. host: what do we know about a new members coming to the senate, who will be the leader of the party in the 119 congress? guest: that is one reason why it is very good for thune to have steve daines in his corner. he went on recruited dave mccormick in pennsylvania. he recruited sam brown in nevada, if he and submit=== -- if the ends up victorious. those things really matter. you have others that know they have been here for a while, such as jim banks from indiana. the congressman always seen as a ladder climber, in a good way, wanted to be in leadership on the house i. congrats, now you get a senate job. the daines thing cannot be

understated. i think that is a shrewd move for thune. host: after the election, a lot of reflecting on what went right, what went wrong. a lot of things went right for senate republicans the cycle, they had a great map. could be 54 seats in the next congress. in the days after the 2022 cycle, there were a lot of thoughts that republicans should have done better in the senate. where was that red wave that was supposed to emerge? what was different this cycle? one of the criticisms last cycle was candidate recruitment. >> we will leave this but you can finish watching online at c-span.org as we take you to a series of discussions on education policies and the impact of the 2024 election. >> will be talking about putting the pop out -- back in parent