Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) time as Senate Leader for the GOP is about to come to an end.
With McConnell going out, he was expected to try to put his biggest allies in place.
He succeeded by getting Senator Thune (R-S.D.) the gavel, but he is failing in trying to get his other lieutenant, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) installed as the Senate Intelligence Chair.
Not Happening
Thune, Cornyn, and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) were in the running to be the new Senate Leader in the GOP.
I actually thought Scott would have run away with this, but it was McConnell loyalist Thune who stole the gavel.
It was later reported that Thune was the one that Trump wanted, which shocked me considering his long-standing relationship with McConnell.
I looked at both Thune and Cornyn as McConnell 2.0.
After losing the leader bid, Cornyn apparently wanted to flex and jump to the front of the line in the Senate Intelligence Committee, of which Senator Cotton (R-AR) is the current ranking member.
That, however, was shut down, with Cotton saying that he was not backing down and his office later confirmed that he had already been informed by Thune that Cotton would be the chair.
Cotton’s office stated, “Senator Thune has told Senator Cotton he’s taking over as chair. He is hiring staff, working with Senator [Marco] Rubio (R-Fla.) on the transition, and planning with Senator [Mark] Warner (D-Va.) for January confirmation hearings.”
To be honest, Cornyn will be lucky if he is still in office when he has to run for re-election.
He and Trump have always had a testy relationship and rumors are that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now considering a run at the Senate.
I have to assume that Paxton would get Trump’s endorsement, which should spell the end of Cornyn.
I have always gotten the feel from my friends in Texas that if they had a decent alternative to Cornyn, they would choose it, and Paxton may finally give them what they want… no more Cornyn.
