Republican senators are vying for Mitch McConnell’s spot after the minority leader said Wednesday afternoon he would step down in November — with the conference somewhat divided ahead of the 2024 election and no successor made apparent.
Mitch McConnell’s shocking announcement Wednesday afternoon that he will step aside as Senate Republican leader after the November elections has sparked a mad dash among a divided GOP conference to replace him.
With no successor clearly apparent, McConnell announced in a floor speech he would step back and allow “the next generation of leadership” to make its mark in the upper chamber — and several had no qualms about making their ambition known soon after.
“I turned 82 last week, and the end of my contributions are closer than I prefer,” McConnell said, his voice breaking at times. “I’m filled with heartfelt gratitude and humility for the opportunity.”
“If you would have told me … that I would stand before you as the longest serving Senate leader in US history, frankly I would’ve thought you lost your mind,” he added. “To serve Kentucky in the Senate has been the honor of my life, to lead my Republican colleagues has been the highest privilege.”
Speculation quickly turned to three Johns potentially waiting in the wings: John Thune (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
“John,” Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) joked to reporters when asked whom he would back, without specifying which one.
All three Johns either currently serve or have served in key leadership roles within the Senate GOP. Thune, the Senate minority whip, is McConnell’s current second-in-command, while Barrasso serves as the chair of the Senate Republican conference and Cornyn spent four years as Senate majority whip after the party re-took the chamber in 2014.
“I think today is about Mitch McConnell, but I’ve made no secret of my intentions,” Cornyn teased to reporters.
Thune, who lauded McConnell as “a fierce defender of the Senate,” is technically next in line for the role, but all indications suggest that he’ll have stiff competition on his hands if he seeks to take the next step.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who stood by McConnell during recent fights over Ukraine funding and US border security, called the Kentuckian “a true legend” and said any successor would have “very big shoes to fill.
