Thune, who is 63 and in his fourth Senate term, has promised to work closely with President-elect Donald Trump despite differences between the two over the years.

Thune beat out two other competitors, Sens. John Cornyn and Rick Scott, by gaining majority support from GOP senators in a secret ballot vote.

U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as that chamber’s next majority leader during a closed-door, secret ballot election.