Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has led Senate Republicans for eighteen years, including a third of that time as Majority Leader. His tenure spans from the last days of the George W. Bush Administration, through Barack Obama’s two terms, Donald Trump’s first term, and Joe Biden’s administration. McConnell’s record is mixed — he was indispensable in confirming President Trump’s judicial nominees, including three Supreme Court justices, but he appears to have spent considerable political capital trying to stymie Trump in other areas.
McConnell announced earlier this year that he would step down from his leadership role, creating a vacuum to be filled in a party election on Wednesday, November 13. Two of the leading contenders served as whips under McConnell — Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The third contender is Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.
Most conservatives across America want to see Sen. Scott win this race, as they believe he is the most committed to supporting President Trump’s second-term agenda. Many felt during Trump’s first term that the Senate under McConnell spent more time opposing Trump than working with him. The Senate’s reluctance to support building a wall on the southern border or withdrawing troops from the Middle East only reinforced that belief.
Both Thune and Cornyn have made numerous statements over the past nine years that suggest they see Donald Trump as an irritant, a temporary setback for the neoconservative vision of the Republican Party. Cornyn was quick to distance himself from Trump in 2016 after the Access Hollywood tapes were released, and both men often seem inclined to take mainstream news media at face value. When a New York jury awarded E. Jean Carroll millions of dollars in a civil trial in 2023 for her absurd claims of sexual assault against Trump, both Thune and Cornyn publicly stated that Trump could not win the next election.
This illustrates one of my biggest concerns about the United States Senate: as a body, it is primarily composed of members from older generations, of men and women who have spent many decades in politics. In the 118th Congress, which began in January 2023, the median age of senators was 66 as of October 2023. Currently, the oldest senator is Chuck Grassley of Iowa at 91, while the youngest is Jon Ossoff of Georgia at 37.
Dianne Feinstein of California was reelected in 2018 at age 85 and passed away last year at 90. In her final days, aides were seen wheeling the infirm Feinstein into the Senate chamber and instructing her on how to vote.
People in older generations, particularly those with long political careers, often struggle to recognize how politics is changing. They tend to trust mainstream news sources — if they hear something on CNN or read it in the New York Times, they consider it credible, viewing such outlets as far more reliable than alternative media. This is why so many otherwise intelligent people cave credence to the most absurd claims of Russian collusion during the first Trump Administration.
Yet the Senate structure itself rewards seniority. Here in Idaho, our own senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, are both preparing to chair powerful committees simply due to their years in office. According to the Senate’s unspoken rules, the position of majority leader should go to whomever has been there the longest, or at least close to the longest. John Cornyn has been in office since 2002, and John Thune since 2005, so — to put it simply — it’s their turn.
Supporting Rick Scott, who just won a second term last week, would mean breaking with the Senate’s long-standing tradition. Yet we live in unprecedented times, and our senators will need to decide what matters more: tradition or fulfilling the mandate that voters have given the Republican Party. Rank-and-file Republicans don’t want business as usual; they want dramatic changes in how our government operates.
Our own state senators must soon make the same choice. Will they simply defer to seniority in selecting leadership and committee chairs, or will they exercise their authority as representatives of the people of Idaho to do what they believe is right?
None of this is to say that Sen. Scott is perfect. As governor of Florida, he signed a red flag law that has gun rights advocates rightly concerned. Yet given the choice between these three men, the answer is obvious to anyone who hopes to see President Trump and his agenda for a stronger America succeed. It is not as if Thune or Cornyn are any better on the 2nd Amendment.
The Idaho GOP, Ada County GOP, and numerous Republican organizations and figures have called on our senators to support Rick Scott for majority leader. If you’d like to share your opinion with Sens. Crapo and Risch, you can use the great tool at Email Idaho to send a message to both at once.
As the body that must confirm President Trump’s cabinet appointments and judicial picks, the US Senate is vitally important in fulfilling Trump’s promises to the American people. It needs a leader who knows what time it is.
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