After stepping down from his position as Senate leader, McConnell is prepared to choose his battles independently. He intends to utilize his power in ways that may lead to disagreements with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
After stepping down from his position as Senate leader, McConnell is now free to choose his own battles and assert his influence in ways that may lead to conflicts with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky and the Senate leader for the longest period, has announced that he 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 seat of
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 significant role in supporting and advancing his policies.
After serving as the Senate leader for a long time, Mr. McConnell will be stepping down from his position in January. It seems that this time he is preparing to take a different approach, prioritizing issues that may lead to disagreements with Mr. Trump regarding policies and appointments at the beginning of his second term.
Recently, Mr. McConnell, who is 82 years old, has expressed to his colleagues that his upcoming departure from leadership has made him feel free and unrestricted. This sentiment was shared during a late-night voting session on the Senate floor last week.
He has expressed doubts about some of the president-elect’s controversial choices for his administration, choosing not to comment on their selections. He recently stated that it was the right decision for former Representative Matt Gaetz to withdraw from consideration as attorney general. Additionally, Mr. McConnell has indicated that he will focus on two issues that he strongly disagrees with Mr. Trump on as he works to solidify his legacy in the Senate.
Mitch McConnell’s current term in the Senate will end in 2027, and he has not yet confirmed if he will run for re-election. He has stated that his main focus for the next two years will be on promoting his approach to foreign policy, which involves more intervention compared to the incoming president’s "America First" strategy. McConnell also aims to protect the Senate’s autonomy amidst the President’s plans to exert influence over the chamber with his majority control starting in January.
We are currently experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
To fully utilize this website, make sure to activate JavaScript in
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Have you already signed up? Please log in.
Interested in having access to all content from The Times? Consider subscribing
Prom
Index of the Website
Navigation for Site Information