{"id":2268083,"date":"2024-06-14T17:15:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T21:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-explores-his-next-chapter-post-leadership-retirement\/"},"modified":"2024-06-14T17:16:36","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T21:16:36","slug":"mcconnell-explores-his-next-chapter-post-leadership-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-explores-his-next-chapter-post-leadership-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"McConnell considers future after stepping down from leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmcconnell-explores-his-next-chapter-post-leadership-retirement%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2268083&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is \u200dcontemplating his future options as he prepares to\u200b step down as the Senate&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dutch-still-unable-to-form-a-government-after-record-breaking-226-days\/\" title=\"Dutch Still Unable to Form a Government After Record-Breaking 226 Days\">longest-serving leader<\/a> this November. There&#8217;s speculation, reported by \u200dAxios, that he might seek the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a\u2064 significant \u200cposition. However, McConnell&#8217;s \u200doffice has \u200cdenied these claims, stating that he is currently focused on ending the 118th Congress\u2064 effectively and aiding the Senate \u200bRepublicans \u2064in regaining the majority. The process\u2064 of selecting committee leaders heavily weighs seniority and member\u200c preferences, which might pave the way \u2062for these\u200c new assignments if Republicans \u200bwin back the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins, currently\u2062 the vice chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, expects to potentially \u2062lead\u2064 the committee next Congress if Republicans secure \u2064the majority. Yet, \u200dthere is\u200b an \u200dindication \u2062that McConnell, given his seniority, might \u2063be considering stepping ahead of Collins for the chairmanship,\u200c though this \u2063is not confirmed.\u2062 Her office emphasizes that while\u200b it&#8217;s McConnell&#8217;s right \u200bto \u200bseek the position, Collins is likely\u200d to either chair \u200bor vice-chair the\u2062 committee,\u200b anticipating a normal advancement if the \u2063GOP wins back \u2064control.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitch-mcconnell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mitch McConnell (R-KY)\">Mitch McConnell (R-KY)<\/a> is considering his next move after he plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2893835\/mitch-mcconnell-resigning-as-senate-gop-leader-in-november\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"step down\">step down<\/a> as the longest-serving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mitch McConnell (R-KY)\">Senate<\/a> leader in November, according to sources familiar with his thinking.<\/p>\n<p>If <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republicans\">Republicans<\/a> win the Senate majority in November, there will be a new batch of faces at the helm of every committee and seniority is heavily considered when the assignments are made. Senate Republicans determine their committee assignments by having each senator submit requests and rank their preferences. Seniority as well as those rankings are factored into the final decisions. <\/p>\n<p><em>Axios<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/06\/14\/mcconnell-trump-senate-republicans-appropriations\">reported <\/a>on Friday that the 82-year-old Kentucky senator is interested in becoming the next chairman of the Appropriations Committee, one of the most high-profile and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/debt-ceiling-compromise-with-biden-administration-shatters-house-gops-honeymoon\/\" title=\"Debt ceiling compromise with Biden administration shatters House GOP\u2019s honeymoon\">influential committee assignments<\/a>. However, McConnell\u2019s office is pushing back on that assessment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeader McConnell is focused on finishing the 118th Congress strong and helping Senate Republicans regain the majority,\u201d said Doug Andres, a spokesman for the senator, in a statement provided to the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is currently the vice chairwoman of the panel. Her staff appeared to downplay the idea that McConnell could decide to leapfrog ahead of her to take the top spot on the committee. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator Collins fully anticipates that in the next Congress, she will either be the chair or vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee,\u201d Annie Clark, communications director for Collins, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a statement. \u201cOf course, it is Senator McConnell\u2019s prerogative to make his own decisions given his seniority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a normal scenario, if Republicans regain the majority, Collins would become the full chair of the committee and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/progressive-democrats-blast-israel-aid-from-us-even-after-hamas-cease-fire\/\" title=\"Progressive Democrats Blast Israel Aid From US Even After Hamas Cease-Fire\">defense subcommittee chair<\/a>. However, there could be a situation in which Collins becomes the full chair and McConnell could lead the defense subcommittee. Both Collins and McConnell are close allies who have similar views on appropriations funding and the military.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to serving on the Appropriations Committee, McConnell also serves on the Agriculture, Rules, and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Several sources close with the Republican leader emphasize he has not made a decision about which posts he\u2019s looking to pursue in the future. However, they did not dispute the fact he could be interested in the high-ranking post on the committee that is responsible for funding the federal government\u2019s vital activities.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell has been<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/2976575\/mcconnell-celebrates-ukraine-aid-test-vote-blames-tucker-carlson\/\"> instrumental <\/a>as the central Republican figure on Capitol Hill to pass $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and the Indo-Pacific despite fierce resistance from some Republicans. <\/p>\n<p>McConnell has staked his legacy on standing with Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion for the last two years. Beginning this fall, nearly every day during the Senate session, he delivered a speech in support of providing military resources to Ukraine, pushing back against what he has called the \u201cmisguided fantasies\u201d of the \u201cAmerica First\u201d movement. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A perch atop the Appropriations Committee could give the Kentucky Republican even more sway over military funding and spending. The position could ultimately put him at odds with former President Donald Trump if he wins the presidency. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say he\u2019s considering the road ahead, but it\u2019s too early to say where that road may lead,\u201d a source familiar with McConnell\u2019s thinking said.<\/p>\n<p><em>David Sivak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is contemplating his future actions as he prepares to step down in November as the longest-serving Senate leader, sources say. Should the Republicans secure a Senate majority, new leaders will take charge of every committee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2268084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24164737699739-1024x682.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2268083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24164737699739-1024x682.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2268083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2268084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2268083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2268083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2268083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}