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A new biography of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) out later this month has some revelations about what McConnell thought of Trump in 2020. McConnell called Trump "stupid," "ill-tempered," "a despicable human being," and a "narcissist." And that is coming from someone who has to work with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). He also hinted that a sizable fraction of the GOP Senate conference felt the same way. He also said that it was not just Democrats who were counting the days until Trump was gone.
McConnell will not be a leader starting in January, but he will still be in the Senate and regarded by many senators as an elder statesman to whom they can turn to for advice. Think Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), except not able to rid his party of a weak presidential candidate. McConnell has built up a lot of good will among conference members, having led the Republicans for 18 years, the longest tenure of any Senate leader in history. If Trump wins, there could be tensions between him and the Senate, especially if the Republicans control the body 51-49 and not all of them are on board with Trumpism. A former Senate aide, Brian Darling, said: "A lot of the Senate Republican allies are not strong allies."
There is a lot of lingering bad blood between many senators and Trump. That could flare up if Trump wants Congress to do things the senators feel are bad for the Party and the country. The House is far more likely to be compliant with Trump because many representatives are from highly gerrymandered and very Trumpy districts. That is much less true of entire states.
Three Republican senators who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial will be in the new Senate: Sens. Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK). Several other Republican senators are clearly not big fans of Trump, including Mike Rounds (SD) and Todd Young (IN). Neither of the likely Republican leaders, Sens. John Thune (SD) and John Cornyn (TX), especially like Trump and both have a history of criticizing him. The next GOP whip, Sen. John Barrasso (WY), is a McConnell ally. If Trump wins, he may have to actually negotiate with the Senate, even if the Republicans control it. The leadership will not roll over and play dead for him. (V)