After stepping down from his position as the longest-serving Senate leader, McConnell is preparing to assert his influence in a manner that may lead to conflicts with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
After stepping down as Senate leader, McConnell is free to choose his battles and may clash with President-elect Trump as he plans to leverage his influence in the upcoming Congress.
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky and the Senate leader with the longest tenure, will be resigning from his position in January. Photo by Kent Nishimura for The New York Times.
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Written by Catie Edmondson.
Sending updates from the government building
During President Donald J. Trump’s previous term in office, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky who served as the majority leader at the time, played a significant role in supporting and advancing Trump’s agenda.
After serving as Senate leader for a long time, Mr. McConnell will be stepping down from the position in January. It seems that this time he is planning to focus on different issues that may lead to disagreements with Mr. Trump regarding policies and personnel as Trump starts his second term.
Lately, Mr. McConnell, who is 82 years old, has been expressing to his colleagues that stepping down from his leadership role has made him feel free. This sentiment was shared during a late-night voting session on the Senate floor last week.
He has shown doubt about some of the president-elect’s most controversial choices for his team, not commenting on their appointments and recently stating that it was right for former Representative Matt Gaetz to withdraw from consideration as attorney general. Mr. McConnell has also hinted that as he works to establish his legacy in the Senate before his term ends, he will focus on two issues that he does not see eye-to-eye with Mr. Trump on.
Mitch McConnell, whose term ends in 2027, has not confirmed if he will run for another term. He has expressed his intention to prioritize his interventionist foreign policy over the next two years, which contradicts the incoming president’s "America First" approach. McConnell also aims to protect the Senate’s autonomy as President Trump has made it clear that he intends to exert control over the chamber.
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