Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

McConnell Wants the Law Changed to Ensure He's Replaced by a Republican If He Leaves the Senate Early

McConnell Wants the Law Changed to Ensure He's Replaced by a Republican If He Leaves the Senate Early
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

With 36 years under his belt, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is one of the longest-serving Senators in American history.

Having just won reelection in 2020, he's guaranteed another six years in office, but at 78 years old, McConnell's retirement or otherwise premature exit is far from out of the question.


When a vacancy opens in the Senate, it's up to the Governor of that Senator's state to appoint a replacement who will serve until the next election.

Though both of Kentucky's Senators are Republicans, its Governor—Andy Beshear—is a Democrat with years left in his term.

Republican Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers is looking to limit the Beshear's power over the appointment of departing U.S. Senators with a bill he introduced to the Kentucky State Senate last week.

Senate Bill 228 would amend the policy for appointing interim Senators to limit the governor's choice to three candidates offered by the departing Senator—a move that would let McConnell ensure he'd be replaced by a Republican if he left the Senate before the next election cycle.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, McConnell is a proponent of S.B. 228, Meghan Roos of Newsweek reports.

McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer told the press:

"Leader McConnell has discussed the legislation with President Stivers and is fully supportive of the measure."

Meanwhile, Beshear warned that the legislation would threaten government effectiveness:

"I believe that we've got to believe in the institution of government, of the separation of powers, more than we believe in our party. Whether or not we change the way that a vacancy is filled shouldn't be decided based on who's currently in the office. Once that happens, we start breaking the very institutions that keep us moving forward, even with changing partisanship over the years."

McConnell served as Senate Majority Leader from 2015 until January of this year—a tenure defined by his constant refusal to entertain legislation passed by a Democratic House or Supreme Court nominees offered by Democratic Presidents. Then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell became known as the "Grim Reaper" to the public for his willingness to let Democratic bills die on his desk. It was a nickname he embraced.

McConnell's support for the legislation is par for the course of his nearly 40 years in office.






The development has some wondering if McConnell expects his time in the Senate to end before 2027.



According to a recent poll, 53 percent of Republicans disapprove of McConnell's performance in the Senate.

More from News

Lynda Carter; Screenshot of Donald Trump
Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images; Newsmax

Lynda Carter Hilariously Channels Wonder Woman In Response To Trump's Claim About 'Undetectable' Planes

After President Donald Trump touted the U.S. military's "stealth" planes that he described as "undetectable," Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter responded to his claim with a funny quip sure to delight fans of her iconic character.

Earlier, Trump boasted about the military's capabilities in remarks to reporters in the Oval Office amid heightened concerns about the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict that is sending shockwaves throughout the Middle East and around the world:

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less
​​Elon Musk
Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images

Anti-Elon Banner at Stanford

Stanford University graduates were given creative advice from above as an airplane flew over the graduation ceremony with a banner reading, “CONGRATS! DON’T WORK FOR ELON.”

The moment was captured last Sunday during the university’s 134th Commencement ceremony, where the Class of 2025 received their degrees at Stanford Stadium.

Keep ReadingShow less