Senate Republicans have elected Sen. John Thune (R-SD) – who has long been hostile to LGBTQ+ rights – as the next Senate majority leader in what is widely considered the party’s first rebuke of MAGA extremists since Donald Trump was elected president.

In an interview with POLITICO Magazine, Liam Donovan, a former GOP political operative and lobbyist who’s a close observer of Capitol Hill, laid out the political landmines facing the candidates to be the next Senate majority leader and the sway that Trump holds — or doesn’t hold — in the contest.

Senate Republicans return to Washington on Tuesday for the first time since they secured the Senate majority to determine who will be the new party leader in the chamber.