The legislator, who is the highest-ranking Republican in the Upper House since the end of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009), has as possible candidates for the position Florida Senator Rick Scott; John Thune of South Dakota, and John Cornyn, of Texas.
Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump support Scott; while the options most aligned with the power groups are Thune and Cornyn, local media reported.
McConnell will remain in the Senate until his term ends in 2026, but he left the way open to a new generation of leaders at this time when Trump’s second presidential term begins.
The relationship between Trump and McConnell has not been the best, particularly after the assault on the federal Capitol on January 6, 2021. At that time, the veteran senator did not vote to condemn him during the impeachment trial, but called it “shameful.”
Prior to his meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden at the White House, Trump addressed a large group of House Republicans in this capital, where he boasted of his landslide victory over the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris in the key states during the November 5 elections.
“We won in every way, in the seven key states, by a lot,” he stressed, suggesting that “next time, if we go up even a fraction of what we went up,” Republicans could win in states like New Jersey, New York and California, CNN reported.
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