McConnell is working to maintain significant influence in the Trump-era Republican majority

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is reportedly working behind the scenes to give Republicans a head start should they win the election in November.

The Kentucky Republican will step down from his leadership role at the end of the year, but will obviously still play a role in policymaking if his party manages to win majorities in Congress and return presumptive nominee Donald Trump to the White House.

Getting Trump's agenda through would be McConnell's goal, as some Republican lawmakers say he is “building the groundwork for a big budget reconciliation package that would extend the Trump-era tax cuts and give a big boost to defense spending.” the hill.

Addressing the possibility of unified control of the White House and both houses of Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke at a Senate Republican policy luncheon last week about setting the agenda for to a budget reconciliation package. McConnell was very “focused” at the meeting, according to a senator in attendance.

“This sounds like a McConnell-driven project to me. McConnell invited [Johnson] to come, McConnell spoke repeatedly” during the meeting, “and kept emphasizing, 'You know we really have to be ready, we have to write the legislation now,'” the senator said. “Mitch seemed very focused.”

Whether it's Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Republican Senate Whip John Thune (SD) or another lawmaker succeeding McConnell, Republicans appear to be concentrating efforts to be ready at the exit door after the November results.

McConnell has been “heavily” involved, according to Cornyn, a member of the Finance Committee.

“We have to be ready to start in January,” he said, adding that McConnell is “very much a part of this process.”

“It will be very important to all of us if President Trump is elected and if we have a majority in both chambers to be able to extend the current tax provisions that are expiring,” he said. seconds on the Hill

McConnell's criticism of the former president created tensions between them and earned him many choice words from Trump. But at a luncheon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters last week, they appeared to bury the hatchet, with Trump reportedly praising the GOP leader and not saying a word about their differences.

Our President Trump and our Leader McConnell are meeting for the first time in years

It's time to put the past in the past and come together as a Republican family pic.twitter.com/A9HMJsBgQT

— Reaganite ❄️ (@emperoreaganite) June 13, 2024

“Senate Republicans say they wasted valuable time in 2017, the first months of Trump's first term, because they didn't have a clear plan for how to use the budget reconciliation process to get Trump's agenda past the opposition Democrat,” The Hill reported. noting how Republican lawmakers don't want to be caught unprepared again.

“It's natural and consistent with his MO [modus operandi] that he wants to leave whoever the next leader is in as good a position as possible to address the issues they'll be looking at in 2025,” said Rohit Kumar, McConnell's former deputy chief of staff.

“While you never take anything for granted, you prepare for all eventualities, including Republicans holding the House, the Senate and the White House,” Kumar added. “There will be intense pressure to move forward as quickly as possible on a reconciliation bill.”

McConnell, a senior member of the Senate Rules Committee, could enter 2025 as chairman of the Appropriations Committee or the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, where he would wield great influence as the Senate's longest-serving party leader. country

“He hasn't made a decision on that yet, but obviously he would still have an incredible influence on whatever he does, whether it's Appropriation or whatever role he plays.” a Senate GOP strategist said. “He's someone who knows how to operate inside the chamber and understands the rules, knows how to make a big impact regardless of whether he's in elected leadership.”

If he's been busy laying the groundwork behind the scenes, McConnell didn't let that pass when he spoke to reporters.

“The first step is we have to have a Republican president, a Republican House and a Republican Senate or there will be no reconciliation at all. It's an important tool. We look forward to the opportunity to use it,” he said.

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida, where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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