After serving as leader of the Republican Senate for nearly two decades, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will be stepping down soon. Who will take his place?
Last year, Republicans faced a problematic situation when they ousted their own former Speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and were left without someone in the position while important legislation was left in the balance. They went through multiple candidates before finally selecting Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.).
McConnell has had a decades-long career in politics and has served as party leader for a record number of years. Recently, the 82-year-old made headlines for freezing in front of reporters. In February Angela Chao – a shipping executive and sister of McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao – died in a car crash. He mentioned her death as one of the reasons why he decided to step down as party leader.
McConnell will officially step-down next January, and GOP members will select his replacement in November. That means the party has months to consider his replacement.
Already, both NBC News and POLITICO have reported that three men are leading the pack of potential new party leaders in the Senate. They are all named John.
There’s Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Cornyn announced his bid for the spot Thursday and Thune will soon be term limited out of his current position as minority whip. NBC said Barrasso’s office also named him as a likely contender.
Other possible contenders include Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who challenged McConnell in a leadership election before.
When asked which of the “three Johns” he would prefer to replace McConnell, Scott said “good question,” according to POLITICO.
NBC noted that former President Donald Trump – the current frontrunner to be the GOP presidential candidate in November – could sway the eventual results by putting his weight behind one of the contenders. Still, GOP lawmakers will make the final decision behind closed doors.
“So time rolls on,” said McConnell this week. “There will be a new custodian of this great institution. Next year, I intend to turn this job over to a Republican Majority Leader. I have full confidence in my conference to choose my replacement and lead our country forward.”