By any fair measure, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has lost much of the power and influence he once enjoyed. After the 2022 midterm elections, the Kentucky Republican faced the most serious intraparty challenge of his career, leaving little doubt that a significant chunk of his GOP colleagues were eager to oust him.
When McConnell had some health difficulties last summer, talk of replacing him grew considerably louder.
In the months that followed, the Senate minority leader found his members routinely ignoring his directives, all while Donald Trump went after McConnell with contempt and vitriol the former president usually reserves for Democrats. Earlier this month, some of his members, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, publicly called for the GOP leader to give up his leadership post.
That was just three weeks ago. It was against this backdrop that McConnell made some news this afternoon. NBC News reported:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will step down from the helm of the Republican Conference this year, ending his time as the longest-serving leader in Senate history. The Kentucky Republican, who has served as GOP leader since 2007, made his announcement in a Senate floor speech Wednesday.
There was some discussion in the immediate aftermath of the news about McConnell’s “legacy,” and it’s only fair to say that the outgoing Senate minority leader had a dramatic impact on the institution and the nation.
That impact has not always been a positive one.
I’m reminded of a column The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank wrote several years ago, describing McConnell as the politician who effectively “broke America.”
No man has done more in recent years to undermine the functioning of U.S. government. His has been the epitome of unprincipled leadership, the triumph of tactics in service of short-term power. … McConnell is no idiot. He is a clever man who does what works for him in the moment, consequences be damned.
Many observers will no doubt…
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