WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has served as chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for the past four years, issued the following statement on thedecision made by the committee’s majority members to elect Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) as the next chairman:

“I congratulate Sen. Wicker on his election as chairman of the Commerce Committee by our Republican committee colleagues,” said Thune. “As a longtime member and the leader of our communications and technology subcommittee, he is poised for a successful tenure as chairman. It has been a great honor to lead the committee for the past four years and I’m proud of the work we have done to pass bipartisan legislation for nearly every federal transportation agency, as well as setting policy impacting science, technology, and our environment. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support over the past four years, and I look forward to continue serving alongside them as a member of the committee.”

Senator Thune has been selected by his colleagues to serve as the Majority Whip for the 116^th Congress, precluding him from continuing in his role as committee chairman. Thune was first elected chairman of the committee in the 114^th Congress. Prior to that, he served as the committee’s ranking minority member for two years. Senator Wicker will officially assume the leadership of the committee once the full Senate passes a resolution, as early as today, setting committee memberships and seniority.