|Photo courtesy of Senate Republican Caucus| U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito moves up the leadership ladder in the U.S. Senate with her promotion to chairwoman of the Republican Policy Committee.

CHARLESTON – The Republicans are taking the majority in the U.S. Senate next year, with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito moving up to the fourth most powerful position in the Senate GOP majority caucus.

Republican members of the U.S. Senate met Wednesday to vote on their new leadership team that will take the reins of the Senate majority after sweeping last week’s elections. The current Democratic Senate majority lost four seats and Republicans picked up four seats, giving the GOP a 53-47 majority in the 100-member Senate chamber.

Capito was elected Wednesday by her GOP colleagues as the incoming chairwoman of the Republican Policy Committee. Capito, who will be the 18th chair of the committee first founded in 1947, was unopposed.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for electing me to serve on the Senate Republican leadership team as the next Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee,” said Capito, R-W.Va., in a statement Wednesday. “I look forward to working in this new leadership role to help build consensus with my colleagues in many of these conservative principles that Senate Republicans–now in the majority–can implement in the new Congress.”

The Republican Policy Committee helps develop the legislative agenda of the Senate Republican caucus and provides policy recommendations to GOP members. The committee holds a weekly policy lunch every Tuesday when the Senate is in session.

“We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us following this successful election cycle, and we have the tools to meet the challenges,” Capito said. “I am committed to doing my part as the next RPC Chair to help lead our conference to achieve this goal, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help communicate our optimistic and conservative vision for the future.”

Republican senators voted in Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., as the new incoming Senate Majority Leader, succeeding U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell has been the leader of the Senate GOP caucus since 2007, but he announced earlier this year he would step down from that role and serve out his term which ends in 2027.

“It’s a new day in the United States Senate and it’s a new day in America,” Thune said Wednesday in a press conference following the leadership vote. “I’m excited to get to work with this team right away, and I want to thank my colleagues who placed their faith in me to serve as leader…We’ll have an ambitious agenda and it will take each and every Republican working together to be successful.”

“Congratulations to our new leader, John Thune,” Capito said during Wednesday’s press conference. “He will be a strong voice as he has been in the past as the whip, and I look forward to serving with him and with all of our leadership team.”

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., was chosen as the Senate Majority Whip. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was chosen as chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., was chosen as vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., was elected as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which recruits and raises money for GOP Senate candidates.

With the election of former Republican President Donald Trump for a second four-year term, the continued GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the retaking of the majority by Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Capito said voters sent a message loud and clear about their concerns about inflation, immigration, and national security.

“I think the biggest issues were…the border, national security, and others. It is literally the American family – the mom and the dad, the grandmother, whoever it is – going to the grocery store…All of us could see the escalating costs,” Capito said. “We hear those voices. We hear them loud and clear, and those are the voices that we’re going to respond to along with President Trump through the next several years.”