Republicans continue to sit in uncomfortable uncertainty as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health issues grow.
Despite many calling for his resignation, McConnell continues to maintain that he will stay in his position for the remainder of its time.
Now, speculation is growing over who might potentially fill his roll once he reaches the end of his term…and what will become of the GOP.
Henry Rogers, the Daily Caller‘s top congressional reporter, recently revealed that two of McConnell’s deputies could be among those vying to fill his role.
These include Sens. John Cornyn and John Thune who have already taken on much of the leadership duties while McConnell is unwell.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who previously challenged him for the post but lost out then, is not in contention this time around due to a lack of support from other members in Congress.
The former Senate Chief of Staff had some interesting insight about how people felt about these potential successors: “My understanding is that Thune is likely to really inherit the McConnell infrastructure and he seems to be the one that is likely to get it. At some point when McConnell does leave, in some form or fashion, I don’t think Cornyn is without a shot. I think he has a chance but I don’t see anybody else. I don’t see a viable outsider alternative coming into play.”
A plurality within Congress reportedly supports any leadership decisions made by McConnell or whoever takes over after him when he steps down.
While Senator McConnell was cleared by a physician following his second freeze mid-speech incident, people still fear it may be related to an earlier accident which saw him take a nasty fall down some stairs at Washington D.C.’s Astoria Hotel earlier this year – leading some like Sen Josh Hawley (R-MO) to call for resignation from office due to worries over his capability.
The majority of legislators however, have stood by their colleague and refrained from commenting on age as they understand it could easily backfire on them later on down the line.
Josh Hawley is done with Frozen Mitch:
"Do I think McConnell should be leader? No. If you're concerned about Biden's ability to do his job then you've got to be concerned when it's somebody of your own party."pic.twitter.com/Zo94YOXyLe
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 7, 2023