Scoop: McConnell eyes his next move
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In January, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will go from the longest-serving Senate party leader to a regular senator from Kentucky — and some of his colleagues already are speculating about how he might continue to wield his long-held power.
Why it matters: Several sources close to GOP leadership tell Axios that assuming Republicans win the Senate majority in November, McConnell is eyeing chair of the Appropriations Committee.
- McConnell, 82, is both a student and a practitioner of power.
- While no final decision has been made, such a post would let him remain a force with real juice, wielding enviable say over funding for everything from the Pentagon to pet projects until he finishes his term in 2027.
Reality check: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a longtime, close ally of McConnell, is now Appropriations vice chair — the committee's top Republican on the panel, one slot ahead of McConnell on the panel. That could kill the idea, unless another plum slot could be found for her.
- "Senator Collins fully anticipates that in the next Congress, she will either be the chair or vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee," Annie Clark, communications director for Collins, told Axios in a statement.
- "Of course, it is Senator McConnell's prerogative to make his own decisions given his seniority," Clark added.
What they're saying: McConnell's office responded to our reporting by saying only that he's "focused on finishing the 118th Congress strong and helping Senate Republicans regain the majority."
Zoom out: During his waning days in leadership, McConnell has focused on fighting isolationists in his conference — an effort he plans to continue while he remains in the Senate.
- McConnell spent months fighting GOP resistance to passing a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and the Indo-Pacific before helping to bring the measure across the finish line.
- "Investment in American hard power and leadership isn't coddling our allies," McConnell said in an April floor speech after Biden signed the Ukraine aid package into law.
- "America's own strategic deterrence continues to suffer from chronic neglect. And the Biden administration continues to submit defense budgets that fail to keep up with inflation," McConnell said on the floor in May.
Between the lines: The late Robert Byrd of West Virginia became Appropriations chair after, like McConnell, serving as both majority leader and minority leader.
- Chairing Appropriations would give McConnell even more say in boosting U.S. spending on defense and military aid.
- It also could set up potential clashes with Donald Trump over spending if he wins the presidency and Republicans take the Senate majority.
