Day 1: John Thune's list of targets for Trump
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Senate GOP leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is primed to hand President Trump a quick string of wins on his first days in office.
Why it matters: Thune and Trump have a complicated history, but the new majority leader is doing his best to start Congress off on the right foot.
- Look for floor votes Monday night on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, and the final Senate passage of the Laken Riley Act.
- Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will meet with Trump on Tuesday at the White House.
Zoom in: Even Trump admits he's put Johnson in a tough jam.
- Trump ignored GOP leaders who asked him to hold off on executive orders they could have used for cost-cutting in reconciliation. He's expected to sign an order Monday repealing the electric vehicle mandate.
- At Trump's second speech Monday — to allies and influencers in the overflow room — he described the thin House majority as an exciting challenge.
- Trump said Johnson got "a majority of almost nothing and then I said to make it tougher on him, let me take two or three of the people," referencing people he plucked from the House to staff his administration.
Trump was standing next to Johnson, who'll have to wait until April to get his majority back to 220-215.
- "When we get to that five number, it's going to feel like a massive majority," Trump said.
- "You can be really nasty to a couple of them."
Between the lines: By comparison, Thune's job on nominees seems almost easy. He's got a three-vote margin, and most nominees look better today than a month ago.
- Other national security slots will follow fast after Rubio, including Rep. John Ratcliffe for CIA and Gov. Kristi Noem for Homeland. Pete Hegseth for Pentagon could also get a vote this week.
- Democratic sources told us Rubio's nomination is the most likely to get a floor vote tonight, with votes for Ratcliffe and Noem less likely.
If Democrats slow things down, Thune has threatened to have the Senate work nights and weekends until the confirmation slate is cleared.
- "I didn't get the sense the Democrats are going to cooperate at all," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Axios. He added Rubio's confirmation is an exception to that grind.
Zoom in: Trump arrived on Capitol Hill on Monday as a conquering hero, assuming power and accepting tributes from the leaders of his party.
- At his swearing-in, he sat billionaires Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in front of his Cabinet nominees.
- The Capitol rotunda was a tight squeeze — roughly 600 people — denying lawmakers the chance to sit with their families.
- Trump didn't move on tariffs or mention tax cuts in his inaugural address, which helped spur a market rally.
