Senator Barrasso visits with Kemmerer Coal Miners in a meeting in the summer of 2023. (SVI Photo by Dan Dockstader)

JACKSON (WNE) — Republicans chose Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso for the No. 2 leadership post in the Senate alongside South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who replaces Mitch McConnell as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in leadership as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Thune, 63, is in his fourth Senate term and has promised to work closely with Trump, despite differences the two have had over the years, the Associated Press reported today.

Barrasso will become majority whip for the 119th Congress.

“We have an extraordinary opportunity in front of us,” Barrasso said in a statement Wednesday. “Voters spoke loudly. It is our job to listen and to lead on their behalf. Our agenda will be bold. We will work on the issues that are so clearly the priority of voters — lowering costs, protecting the border, restoring America’s strength in the world, and unleashing American energy.

“With this new Republican majority and President Trump, we will deliver a new direction for the American people.”

Barrasso was uncontested for the role, according to reporting by The Hill, and can serve up to six years.