SEN. JOHN THUNE: The modern Republican Party and our mandate

President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory was made possible by the broadest coalition of voters the Republican Party has seen in the modern era. On Election Day, our big tent expanded coast to coast and brought in patriotic Americans of all stripes. Many were initially turned away from a Democrat Party that increasingly ignores the concerns of hard-working Americans. But Trump’s leadership, and his agenda for American success, closed the deal.

As Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the Senate to advance that agenda legislatively and ensure that the president-elect can hit the ground running with his appointees confirmed as soon as possible. The Senate Republican majority will work with President Trump to ensure the Senate calendar allows us to confirm his nominees and pass our shared agenda as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

We have a mandate to govern. With President Trump leading the ticket, Republicans did better than in 2020 in 48 states. We improved our margins in three out of every four counties in the United States and grew support with nearly every demographic group. President Trump won more Hispanic support than any Republican president ever before, and younger voters who have many elections ahead in their lifetimes were crucial to victory. As my colleague Flordia Sen. Marco Rubio describes it, the party is now a ‘multi-ethnic, multi-racial coalition of hard-working Americans who love their country.’ It’s a new day for the GOP – and that’s a very good thing.

We cannot afford to take this coalition for granted. If we fail to deliver on President Trump’s priorities, we will lose their support. They have trusted us with their votes. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

At the top of the list is cleaning up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda, which was clearly repudiated by the American people. The Republican Congress must ensure President Trump has the necessary tools and support to enforce border security laws and to remove the violent criminals wreaking havoc in every state. The Biden-Harris administration caused the border crisis. We will end it.

Next, to make America prosperous again, we must take a hatchet to the regulatory apparatus choking our economy, starting with the 1,000 Biden-Harris regulations that have already cost Americans nearly $2 trillion. Streamlining the bureaucratic machine is long overdue.

Just undoing the damage done by the Biden-Harris-Schumer Democrats is not enough. Americans have endured devastating price increases over the last four years. They have charged us to increase growth and improve take-home pay, which starts by preventing looming tax hikes. They have directed us to restore order to a volatile world through strength, with a military so powerful and mission-focused our adversaries won’t dare to challenge us. And they have given us the green light to restore American energy dominance.

We have an ambitious agenda, and it will take all of us – each and every Republican – working together with President Trump’s leadership to achieve it. If we don’t successfully execute on our mandate, we risk losing the coalition that swept Republicans into office up and down the ballot.

We will have disagreements along the way. When they arise, we must listen to each other and keep working toward serving the people who gave us this mandate. The Democrat Party will shun or cancel anyone who challenges liberal orthodoxy. This Republican Party listens to our voters and celebrates the marketplace of ideas.

If we listen to the voters who made it possible, last week’s red wave can lift our country to new heights.