Republicans have just a slim majority in the incoming House, with 219 GOP lawmakers elected to the chamber and 215 Democratic lawmakers elected.
The incoming Senate leader, who is commanding a 53-47 Republican majority in the upper chamber, added that he will give Johnson “deference to how he runs the House.”
“He understands the House. I don’t,” Thune added.
Thune also noted that he expects Senate and House GOP leaders to work closely together and with the incoming president to succeed on their policy goals.
“I do think that they will need to be, and we will need to be as a Senate and with the White House working closely as a team, if we’re going to get an agenda done that we want to accomplish for the American people,” Thune said.
In a speech in the House chamber after he was re-elected as speaker, Johnson laid out part of that agenda, claiming Republicans earned a mandate from “a powerful new coalition.”
“This is a powerful new coalition of our country. It’s a coalition that’s asked that we purge the policies of America last and we bury them in the graveyard of history’s mistakes,” Johnson said.
“This Congress will renounce the status quo, and we will listen to the voices of the people. We will act quickly, and we will start by defending our nation’s borders. That’s the No. 1 priority,” he added.
Kyle Stewart and Kristen Welker contributed.