After serving as Senate leader for a long time, McConnell is stepping down and preparing to use his power in ways that may lead to conflicts with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
After stepping down from his role as Senate leader, McConnell is now free to choose his battles and use his power in ways that may clash with President-elect Trump. McConnell, who has been in the Senate for a long time, is ready to assert his influence independently.
Senator Mitch McConnell, who is a Republican from Kentucky and has been serving as the Senate leader for the longest 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 from the government building.
During President Donald J. Trump’s time in office, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky who was the majority leader at the time, played a significant role in supporting and advancing Trump’s policies and goals.
After serving as Senate leader for a long time, Mr. McConnell has decided to step down from his position in January. It seems that this time he is planning to prioritize issues that may lead to disagreements with Mr. Trump regarding policies and personnel at the beginning of his second term.
Recently, there have been reports of Mitch McConnell, who is 82 years old, expressing to his colleagues that stepping down from his leadership position has made him feel free and relieved. This was brought up during a late-night voting session on the Senate floor last week.
He has expressed doubt about some of the president-elect’s most controversial choices for his administration, not commenting on their selections and stating that he believed it was right for former Representative Matt Gaetz to withdraw from consideration as attorney general. Mr. McConnell has hinted that he will focus on two issues during his remaining time in the Senate, which happen to be topics where he and Mr. Trump disagree strongly.
Mr. McConnell has not confirmed if he will seek another term after his current one ends in 2027. He has expressed his intention to prioritize promoting his interventionist foreign policy stance in the next two years, despite it conflicting with the incoming president’s "America First" strategy. Additionally, he aims to protect the Senate’s autonomy as President Trump has indicated plans to exert his influence over the chamber.
We are experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
Please activate JavaScript within your browser’s preferences.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please log out and sign into your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Are you currently a subscriber? Please sign in.
Interested in accessing all of The Times content? Subscribe now.
Prom
Index of the Website
Navigation for Site Information
