President Donald Trump's recent criticism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could indicate that the Kentucky Republican has lost the backing of his party, and that the GOP is looking for a replacement, The Daily Caller reports.
Should McConnell step down, which the Daily Caller admits is an "unlikely event," the logical replacement would be Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn, the current second-in-command in the Republican Senate leadership. He told Politico in May that should McConnell step down, taking his role is "something I would be interested in doing, after he's no longer leader. If there's an opportunity to serve, then sure."
The GOP's second most senior senator, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, is another contender, heading the upper chamber's appropriations committee. Yet another is Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who's high national profile and short run at the presidential nomination hints at further ambitions.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the second most senior member of the Senate and the chair of the finance committee, decided against retiring in 2018 to help Trump, saying in March that Trump "needs" him. However, Hatch recently voiced his support for McConnell, calling him the "best leader" the Senate's had in his time.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a relative newcomer to the upper chamber but already leader of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and the Committee on the Environment and Public Works, is another possibility.
Barasso told the Daily Caller that he has "every confidence in Leader McConnell, as does the rest of the conference. His leadership remains indispensable for unity and legislative success this fall," in a statement.
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