The Next Mitch McConnell May Look a Lot More MAGA

With Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell announcing Wednesday that he will relinquish his leadership post in November, a path has been cleared for Donald Trump to remake the upper chamber in his image. Similar renovations have already taken place within the House, and most recently, the Republican National Committee, where Trump has endorsed his daughter-in-law to be the group’s cochair. But McConnell, while amenable to much of Trump’s agenda when he was president, and instrumental in him getting three Supreme Court picks on the bench, has consistently clashed with him on ideological and strategic grounds. 

However, should Trump retake the presidency, he is likely to find a much more agreeable Republican leading in the Senate. J.D. Vance, a first-term Republican from Ohio and one of Trump’s most loyal allies in the Senate, told The Hill he hopes McConnell’s replacement will be “a little more in tune with the preferences of our voters.” In other words, someone more in tune with Trump. “I think it’ll be great,” Vance said in comments to the Associated Press on McConnell’s decision, “because I think Trump will win, we have a leader who can work well with the next Republican president.”

Among the contenders to replace McConnell are Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, former whip John Cornyn of Texas, and conference chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming, according to Politico. So far, Cornyn is the only Republican to make public his plan to succeed McConnell. “I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell. I have learned a lot during my time both in and out of Senate leadership,” Cornyn said in a Wednesday statement. “Throughout my time I’ve built a track record of listening to colleagues and seeking consensus, while leading the fight to stop bad policies that are harmful to our nation and the conservative cause.”

All of the “three Johns,” as they have been termed, have already endorsed Trump for president; McConnell has not. Barrasso, perhaps the biggest Trump loyalist out of the bunch, was the first member of the Senate Republican leadership to back Trump formally. But the other Johns, like McConnell, have had more contentious relationships with Trump.

Thune’s political career was declared “over” by Trump in late 2020 after the senator denied a plan to use a now infamous congressional session to object to Joe Biden’s victory. The dispute appears to have fizzled out, with Thune winning reelection last cycle and finally endorsing Trump over the weekend. As for Cornyn, he frequently defended Trump throughout his presidency but was also critical at times, questioning the then president’s support for tariffs and his moves to pull the US out of the NAFTA and TPP trade agreements. Still, despite acknowledging that another Trump term would not be “without its challenges,” Cornyn opted to endorse Trump late last month. 

Trump proved willing to inject himself into last year’s House Speaker race, accusing Representative Tom Emmer of being a “Globalist RINO,” and apparently killing his candidacy, while backing Representative Mike Johnson, who was a key ally in Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

So far, Trump hasn’t shown a clear preference for whom he would like to see in McConnell’s stead. When the topic was raised during a Fox News interview this month, he mentioned Steve Daines, a Republican senator from Montana and the chairman of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm. “Steve Daines is a great guy,” he said, adding, “And actually John Cornyn gave me an endorsement, which shocked the hell out of me, to be honest with you.” Aside from Daines, other Trump-aligned senators who might enter the ring reportedly include Tom Cotton and Rick Scott, who in 2022 ran against McConnell for Senate GOP leader but lost.

“I have been very clear and have long believed that we need new leadership in the Senate that represents our voters and the issues we were sent here to fight for,” Scott said in a statement, adding that McConnell’s exit presents “an opportunity to refocus our efforts on solving the significant challenges facing our country and actually reflect the aspirations of voters.”