Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced on Wednesday that this would be his last Congress as the head of the Senate Republican caucus. While he plans to serve out the rest of his term, which ends in 2027, it won’t be in the role he’s served in for 17 years once he steps aside in November. “It’s time for the next generation of leadership,” McConnell said in an emotional (for him) speech on the Senate floor.
The surprise announcement quickens the race to succeed McConnell, which has been gearing up quietly for years now. Senate Republicans will have to decide whether their new standard-bearer fits more in McConnell’s mold or in that of the MAGA wing that has become more prominent in the upper chamber in recent years. Either way, though, the Senate GOP caucus is about to become much more unpredictable after McConnell’s unprecedented run at the helm.
Senate Republicans will have to decide whether their new standard-bearer fits more in McConnell’s mold or in that of the MAGA wing that has become more prominent in the upper chamber in recent years.
It’s hard to deny McConnell’s reputation as a political strategist, both inside the chamber and out. He understood the value of a united front, harnessing from early in his tenure the power that comes with as few as 41 senators standing in lockstep opposition rather than engaging in the more traditional horse-trading across the aisle. More often than not, recent bipartisan deals have come from Republicans’ bucking his calls rather than operating under his instructions. Lacking any interest in running for president, he has delighted in his reputation as the “grim reaper” presiding over a legislative graveyard.
Instead, McConnell’s most pressing focus, and the bulk of his legacy, has been maintaining and extending the GOP’s power, not just in the Senate but also around the country. Despite his membership in a legislative body, the centerpiece of that project was not any piece of…
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