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McConnell’s Liberation: Navigating New Political Waters Without Leadership

In Citizen
November 29, 2024

After being freed from his leadership role, McConnell is prepared to choose which battles to engage in without constraints. As the Senate’s longest-serving leader, he will step down in the upcoming Congress and intends to exert his influence in ways that may lead to conflicts with President-elect Donald J. Trump.

After stepping down as the longest-serving Senate leader, McConnell is now free to choose his own battles and wield his influence in a way that may clash with President-elect Donald J. Trump.

Senator Mitch McConnell, a member of the Republican party from Kentucky who has held the position of Senate leader for the longest period of time, will be resigning from his position in January.

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Written by Catie Edmondson.

Reporting live from the seat of

During President Donald J. Trump’s previous term 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 agenda.

After many years as the Senate leader, Mr. McConnell will no longer hold that position starting in January. This time, he seems to be preparing to take a different approach by prioritizing issues that may cause disagreements with Mr. Trump regarding policies and personnel at the beginning of his second term.

Recently, 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 and liberated. This includes conversations during a late-night voting session on the Senate floor last week.

He has shown doubt about some of the president-elect’s controversial choices for his administration, not publicly commenting on their appointments and stating that it was right for former Representative Matt Gaetz to withdraw from consideration as attorney general. Mr. McConnell has indicated that as he works to solidify his legacy in his remaining time in the Senate, he intends to focus on two issues that he strongly disagrees with Mr. Trump on.

Mr. McConnell’s current term will end in 2027, and it is uncertain whether he will seek another term. He has expressed his intention to prioritize advancing his interventionist foreign policy in the next two years, which contrasts with the president-elect’s "America First" approach. Additionally, he aims to focus on maintaining the Senate’s independence, especially when faced with Mr. Trump’s intentions to exert control over the chamber with his upcoming trifecta of power in January.

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