Trump’s eyebrow-raising Cabinet nominees and the threat of recess appointments are putting the incoming Senate leader between a rock and a hard place.

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans elected John Thune of South Dakota to serve as majority leader in the next Congress. He succeeds Mitch McConnell, who held the term for 18 years. The appointment marks a continuation of a McConnell-like establishment Republican leading the Senate,

John Thune’s victory on a secret-ballot continued the long tradition, in both parties, of elevating small-state senators to the top jobs, banding together for self interest.