After serving as Senate leader for a long time, McConnell is stepping down from his position in the next Congress. He is now free to choose his own battles and is expected to use his power in a way that may clash with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
After stepping down as Senate leader, McConnell is looking to assert his influence in new ways that may lead to conflicts with President-elect Trump.
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky who has held the position of 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.
Backed by
Written by Catie Edmondson
Reporting live from the government building
During President Donald J. Trump’s previous term in the White House, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky who was the majority leader at the time, played a key role in supporting and advancing his agenda.
After serving as Senate leader for a long time, Mr. McConnell will be stepping down in January. Instead of aligning himself with Mr. Trump, it seems like he is preparing to focus on issues that may cause disagreements with the president on policy and personnel as he begins his second term.
Lately, Mr. McConnell, who is 82 years old, has been expressing to his colleagues that stepping down from his leadership position has made him feel free. This sentiment was especially noticeable during a late-night Senate session last week.
He has expressed doubt about some of the president-elect’s controversial choices for his administration, remaining silent on their appointments and stating that former Representative Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration as attorney general was the right decision. Mr. McConnell has indicated that as he works to solidify his legacy in the Senate, he intends to focus on two issues that he strongly disagrees with Mr. Trump on.
Mr. McConnell’s term is set to end in 2027, and he has not indicated whether he will run for re-election. He intends to prioritize advancing his interventionist foreign policy agenda over the next two years, despite President-elect’s focus on "America First." McConnell also aims to protect the Senate’s institutional independence, especially as President Trump looks to exert his influence over the chamber with his upcoming governing trifecta in January.
We are experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
To use this website, make sure to activate JavaScript in your
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please log out and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access.
Are you already signed up? Please enter your login details.
Interested in accessing all content from The Times? Consider subscribing.
Prom
Index of Site
Navigation Information for the Site