Senate conservatives seek to expand power post-McConnell

GOP conservatives led by Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Rick Scott (Fla.) are looking to play the role of kingmaker in the battle to elect the next Senate Republican leader.

These outspoken conservatives, who felt largely shut out of major political and policymaking decisions by outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), want to play a major role in shaping the future direction of the Senate GOP conference as he steps down — particularly in what they hope will be a Senate majority.

They are looking for political and procedural reforms to give themselves and fellow conservatives, such as Sens. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), more say in the leadership of their conference.

And they want to do what they can to prevent the next Republican leader from exercising as much power and control over the GOP conference as McConnell did for the past 17 years.

One Republican strategist familiar with the deliberations of Senate conservatives say they are looking to act as a decisive swing bloc of votes in the race for Senate Republican leader, which is expected to boil down to a contest between Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) and former Senate GOP Whip John Cornyn (Texas).

“From the perspective of the conservatives, this is something they’ve been preparing for since McConnell said I’m going to serve the remainder of my term, and that was it. That’s the mindset they’re in,” said the strategist.

“There’s going to have to be conversations between the candidates and the conservatives, and I don’t think John Thune or John Cornyn can take their support for granted,” the source said.

McConnell stirred speculation among colleagues that he wouldn’t run for another term as leader when he declined to reveal his future plans.

“I have no announcements to make on that subject,” he said in September, when reporters pressed him on the future after he froze for the second time that year in front of television cameras.

“I am going to finish my term as leader, and I’m going to finish my Senate term,” he said tersely.

Lee on Friday began laying out some of the concessions he and other conservatives will want from the next leader.

“The next Senate GOP leader should have the confidence to relinquish discretionary control over committee assignments,” he posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Lee’s comments appeared directed at McConnell’s decision to boot him and Scott off the prestigious Senate Commerce Committee last year after Lee backed Scott’s challenge to McConnell in a leadership race after the 2022 midterm elections.

Conservatives were angered by McConnell’s decision not to grant Schmitt a waiver to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he was barred from doing because Hawley — who’s also from Missouri — was already on the panel when Schmitt came to Congress.

They thought the denial of Schmitt’s request was retaliation for the Missouri freshman declaring during the 2022 campaign that he wouldn’t support McConnell as leader.

Lee on Friday said the next leader shouldn’t let his own political ambitions guide decisions about whom to support in contested GOP primaries.

“The next Senate GOP leader shouldn’t fund primaries just to ensure future senators are loyal to him personally,” he wrote on X.

Lee and Cruz led the calls for McConnell’s resignation during the bitter infighting among GOP senators over the bipartisan border security deal, which McConnell hailed as a success.

“I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans,” Cruz declared at a Feb. 6 press conference.

Scott on Friday hailed McConnell’s retirement as a “big opportunity” to change the direction of the Senate GOP conference.

He said fellow conservatives, including Lee and Johnson, will call a special conference meeting to craft a mission statement they hope will guide the outcome of the race to replace McConnell.

“First thing we’re doing is we’ve called — Ron Johnson, Mike Lee and I and some others have called — for a conference meeting and said, ‘Hey, what do we want to be?’” Scott told “The Charlie Kirk Show.”

Scott says as a “former business guy” he wants to come up with a mission statement “about what we stand for.”

And once senators discuss what they stand for, he explained, the next question is: “Who are we going to elect to do it?”

Scott said he’s “seriously considering” jumping into the race to replace McConnell. He ran for the top leadership job in November of 2022 but lost by a vote of 37 to 10.

Senate conservatives want to bring their conference more in line with House conservatives, who are more aligned with former President Trump and are pushing for deep spending cuts and ambitious policy reforms.

Senate conservatives generally respect Thune and Cornyn. But they have also clashed with both of them.

Thune has run the Senate’s floor operations for the GOP since McConnell suffered a concussion and fractured rib in March of last year. He served as de facto GOP leader while McConnell spent weeks away from the Capitol recovering.

But running legislative operations for McConnell created tensions between Thune and conservative colleagues. That was on display during last month’s acrimonious battle over a bipartisan border security deal, which conservatives condemned as a political “gift” to Democrats.

Cornyn is a longtime member of the Senate Steering Committee, which Senate conservatives often use on Wednesdays as a forum to discuss their priorities and grievances.

Some senators think that affiliation may give Cornyn an advantage with conservatives because Thune is not a member of Steering.

But Cornyn frustrated Senate conservatives in 2022 when he negotiated bipartisan gun violence legislation. The majority of the GOP conference ended up voting against the legislation, including Thune.

Thune and Cornyn have both stepped up their efforts to appeal to conservative colleagues in recent days.

Cornyn endorsed conservatives’ call to give rank-and-file senators more say in strategic decisions and policymaking

“We will improve communication, increase transparency, and ensure inclusion of every member’s expertise and opinion,” he pledged Thursday. “We will restore the important role of Senate committees and reestablish the regular appropriations process.”

Both candidates are touting their records enacting Trump’s agenda while serving in leadership.

Cornyn held the No. 2-ranking Senate leadership job during Trump’s first two years in the Oval Office, while Thune held it during Trump’s second two years in office.

Cornyn endorsed Trump on Jan. 23, and Thune then did so a month later.

Johnson, who joined Lee and Cruz in attacking McConnell’s handing of Ukraine funding and the border security deal, acknowledged that his colleagues have been planning the post-McConnell future of the Senate GOP conference for a while now.

“It’s about time we really sit down as a conference. Figure out: ‘What are we? Who are we? What direction do we want to take this conference? What direction do we want to take the country?’ And be able to communicate that to the American public,” he said.

“Hopefully people will embrace generating a mission statement,” he said. “I’m hoping leaders would kind of rise out of that process — embrace the mission statement, embrace the goals and convince members that they’re fully on board with implementing those things,” he said.