After stepping down from his position as Senate leader, McConnell is now free to choose his battles without the constraints of leadership. He intends to wield his influence in ways that may lead to disagreements with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
After being freed from his leadership position, McConnell is prepared to choose his battles independently. The Senate’s longest-serving leader will step down in the upcoming Congress and intends to use his power in ways that may conflict with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky who has been the Senate leader for the longest amount of time, will be resigning from his position in January. Photo credit goes to Kent Nishimura for The New York Times.
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Written by Catie Edmondson
Covering news from the legislative
During President Donald J. Trump’s time in office, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, was the majority leader and had a significant impact on supporting Trump and advancing his policies in the White House.
After serving as Senate leader for a long time, Mr. McConnell will be stepping down from that role in January. It seems like he is now preparing to shift his focus towards issues that may lead to disagreements with Mr. Trump regarding policies and personnel at the beginning of his second term.
Lately, Mr. McConnell, aged 82, has expressed to his colleagues that stepping down from his leadership position has made him feel free and unburdened. This sentiment was shared during a late-night voting session on the Senate floor last week.
He has expressed doubt about some of the president-elect’s controversial choices for his team, remaining silent on their appointments and stating that the decision for former Representative Matt Gaetz to withdraw from consideration as attorney general was the right move. Mr. McConnell has indicated that as he works to solidify his impact in his remaining time in the Senate, he intends to focus on two issues that he strongly disagrees with Mr. Trump on.
Mitch McConnell, who is currently serving until 2027 and has not confirmed if he will run again, intends to prioritize his interventionist foreign policy in the next two years. This approach contrasts with the incoming president’s "America First" strategy. Additionally, McConnell aims to protect the Senate’s autonomy as President Trump has made it evident that he plans to exert influence over the chamber.
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