Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky—who infamously stole two Supreme Court docket seats and refused to convict Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 riot—is not leaving Congress.
However McConnell will not be Senate majority chief when the brand new GOP majority is sworn in in January, asserting in February that he was stepping down from the function when the brand new Congress is sworn in.
Republicans are actually jockeying to exchange him, with Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Rick Scott of Florida all working for the function.
And the race is already getting ugly, with Scott working hardest to cozy as much as Trump and his vile allies—together with racist 9/11 truther Laura Loomer—in an effort to attempt to come out on prime.
“I’m going to win. And here’s why. I’ve been talking to my Republican colleagues, Guess what? They want change. They know that Donald Trump has a mandate. They want to be part of that mandate. They want to be treated as equals. They want to be part of a team. They want to have a working relationship with the House,” he mentioned in an interview with former Trump administration official and present Fox Enterprise host Larry Kudlow on Wednesday.
On Monday, Scott additionally went on Fox Information, saying he’ll finish the “dictatorship” of McConnell’s lengthy tenure as GOP chief.
The Hill reported that Scott is seen as a protracted shot for the job, and that he might be ousted on the primary poll. But, that might change if Trump allies like Loomer are profitable at getting Trump to endorse within the race. Scott appeared on Loomer’s podcast in October, after which Loomer endorsed Scott for Senate GOP chief.
“Sadly, there are a few bad people who have been around Donald Trump lately who are giving him terrible advice on who to support in this Senate GOP race so that his entire 2nd term is undermined by people who have always hated him,” Loomer wrote in a submit on X, including that Scott is “a true Trump loyalist and is someone we can trust to support Donald Trump.”
Republicans have begged Trump to remain out of the race. Nonetheless, all three candidates have been kissing as much as the now president-elect within the lead as much as the race, figuring out that if Trump endorses it would doubtless assist put that individual over the sting.
Scott, who perpetrated one of many largest Medicare frauds in historical past, ran in opposition to McConnell in 2022 and misplaced, receiving simply 10 votes from the GOP convention. However he is seen as the person closest to Trump among the many three, and a Trump endorsement may change his fortunes.
Thune, who’s seen as the favourite within the race, has a rocky relationship with Trump, as Thune criticized Trump after he incited an riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable,” Thune mentioned on the time, despite the fact that he voted to acquit Trump within the impeachment trial after the riot.
It led Trump to name for Thune to face a main in Thune’s reelection, although Thune simply beat again the first opponent and gained reelection.
The Wall Road Journal reported in October that Thune has been working to get again in Trump’s good graces.
Cornyn has additionally been spending time with Trump through the marketing campaign.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a Thune backer, has publicly known as on Trump to not endorse.
“I’d advise him just to stay out of the race,” Mullin instructed CNN.
However given Trump’s wildcard persona and lack of ability to recover from grudges, you by no means know what is going to occur.
