How Mitch McConnell changed America
We asked congressional insiders, historians and political analysts to choose the longtime Senate GOP leader’s most consequential achievement as he prepares to step down.
When Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell steps down as GOP minority leader in November, the longest stint atop Senate leadership in American history will draw to a close. But the impact he made on American politics will remain even after he steps away from the post.
Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is the subject of passionate debate.
We asked top political thinkers from across the ideological spectrum to reflect on McConnell’s decades in office and answer the question: What is the most consequential way McConnell has changed American politics?
They spoke of his reshaping of the federal judiciary, his flouting of Congressional norms, his on-again-off-again relationship with Donald Trump. Some said he broke the Senate. Some said he saved it. But they all agreed on one thing: Mitch McConnell changed how Washington works.
“Our thoughts are with our Democrat colleagues in the Senate on the retirement of their Co-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ukraine). No need to wait till November … Senate Republicans should IMMEDIATELY elect a *Republican* Minority Leader.”
Can you guess who said this about Sen. Mitch McConnell? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
Is Downtown D.C. Doomed? … Last year was grim for Washington. Homicides were as high as the ’90s, carjackings topped the previous year, sports teams announced they were heading to Virginia — the era of This Town seemed to be over. Now, Mayor Muriel Bowser is trying to turn things around, with plans for revitalizing downtown and converting more buildings into residences. But can D.C. become an all new city bustling with condo dwellers — or is it doomed to backslide? Michael Schaffer plays out the odds in this week’s Capital City column.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s justices agreed to hear Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution over his alleged efforts to steal the 2020 election. The move has prompted celebration among Trump supporters and hand-wringing among his opponents. Haven’t kept up with the docket? Here are some tips on what to say when it comes up in conversation this weekend. (From Ankush Khardori)
— Take a step back. There are many people to blame — or credit — with this situation in addition to the justices. Ironically, they include both President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who appear to have entered office with the idea — doomed to failure from the start — that the administration could simply move on past Trump without conducting the necessary criminal investigation over his efforts to remain in power.
— Push back against a claim that is about to become extremely common as the calendar tightens: that the Justice Department is somehow prohibited from proceeding to trial in a case in the run-up to an election if the defendant is on the ballot. Ostensibly respectable people are saying this. They are wrong.
— Cite some data. It will set you apart from pretty much everyone commenting online and on television. Here’s some highly relevant info: Roughly two-thirds of the country wants to see this trial happen before November.
— Shore that data up with some actual law. Under a statute known as the Speedy Trial Act, trial judges are supposed to consider “the best interest of the public” when setting a trial date.
— Marvel at the stakes: An electoral rematch between Biden and Trump is widely expected to be a close race, while polls have suggested that a conviction of Trump in D.C. could prove fatal to his reelection bid. A trial of Trump in Washington — or lack thereof — could plausibly swing the 2024 election.
He Worked for Boeing. He Still Won’t Fly a MAX … Before senior Boeing employee Ed Pierson retired in 2018, things weren’t going great at the company’s production facility in Renton, Washington: Morale was plummeting and oversight procedures were faltering. After the fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, Pierson testified before Congress, and now, following the 737 MAX 9 flight in which a door plug blew off mid-flight, he’s once again sounding the alarm. “The problem is leadership or lack thereof,” he tells aviation reporter Oriana Pawlyk, “and the pressure to get airplanes out the door is greater than doing the job right.”
Mitch McConnell Might Regret His Supreme Court Win … Mitch McConnell got what he wanted. Thanks to his unprecedented political maneuvering — some would say blithe disregard for political norms — the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court have been reborn in conservatives’ image. But when it comes to the Court, his victory may turn sour, according to POLITICO’s Peter Canellos — a win not for the conservatism McConnell championed but for the Trumpism that eclipsed him. “Did McConnell play Trump back in 2016, when he sought assurances that the then-GOP nominee would appoint justices from a short list of highly credentialed conservatives? Or did Trump play McConnell, buying the crucial support of a man who ultimately came to loathe him?”
The Real Reason Nikki Haley Is Still Running … After six defeats, including her first ever loss in her home state of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, the last Trump primary rival left standing, appears to be running on fumes. So why is she still in the race? “I have a theory,” writes Henry Olsen: “The answer might be buried in the Republican National Committee’s rules and their potential effect on her voice at the July convention.” Even if she doesn’t win, she could score enough delegates to force Trump to make concessions at the RNC convention in July.
The Alabama IVF Ruling Is Just the Beginning … The recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that imperiled IVF in the state has highlighted tensions between Republican electeds who have to win elections and anti-abortion activists who want more restrictions — conflicting motivations that weren’t so apparent when both sides were focused on overturning Roe. One key concept from that ruling will continue to challenge Republicans on just how far they want to go on reproductive rights: Fetal personhood, a once fringe conservative idea that now carries massive policy implications. “Some people in the anti-abortion movement sincerely think that they can honor women and pregnant people’s lives and fetal lives the same,” says Mary Ziegler, a leading historian on the abortion battle and law professor at the University of California Davis School of Law. “In practical terms, if the instrument you use to recognize fetal rights is really harsh criminal punishment, the practical effect tends to be that you don’t value women’s lives as much. That’s what we’ve seen post-Dobbs.”
When JFK Got Bored … We’ve all been there. Forced to attend a less-than-scintillating meeting — say, on labor reform — the mind wanders. Soon, the daydreams come, made even more vivid by doodling. It’s the perfect way to look attentive: Scribbling intensely, but instead of writing out labor statistics, it’s more like horses, boats and trees. At least, that’s what John F. Kennedy drew as a senator.
In the spring of 1959, Senator Kennedy found himself in a meeting on labor reform that he probably would have wished was an email, had email existed at the time. He began to draw one pastoral scene after another. The daydreaming certainly didn’t hamper his political career: Two years later, to the day, he was inaugurated as the 35th president. The doodles are up for auction with Swann Auction Galleries until March 7. The pre-sale estimate is $3,000 to $4,000. (From historian Ted Widmer.)
**Who Dissed answer: It was a post on X from the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has harshly criticized McConnell’s establishmentarian outlook on foreign policy.
