McConnell To Step Down As Republican Leader In November

Wires reporting that Senate Minoirty Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will step down from his position as leader of the Senate Republican conference in November. McConnell isn't up for re-election until 2026 and there hasn't yet been a suggestion that McConnell will retire from Congress entirely ahead of that date despite a number of high profile health concerns over the past year.

• The news come as numerous media outlets report that McConnell may be preparing to endorse former President Donald Trump's presidential bid, a major U-turn for McConnell who hasn't spoken to Trump since the events of January 6, 2021 and has been the most senior member of a Congressional Republican bloc opposed to Trump.
• McConnell's decision to step away from leadership would be a major blow for Ukraine as his vocal support for Kyiv has often been at odds with an increasingly isolationist Republican bloc aligned with Trump. McConnell's departure may also signal a continued move by the GOP away from traditional conservative Republican positions on defence and foreign policy more generally.
• McConnell's most likely replacement is one of the 'three Johns," Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). All three have expressed reservations with Trump but Barrasso, the most conservative of the three, endorsed Trump last week after a series of strong victories in the Republican presidential primaries.