Consider This from NPR - McConnell Releases His Grip On Power

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

Here in the US, the average age of retirement is 61. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky passed that birthday more than 20 years ago. And on Wednesday afternoon, he announced that while he still isn't ready to retire just yet, he will no longer lead Republicans in the Senate. McConnell says he still has "enough gas" in the tank to thoroughly disappoint his critics. The soon-to-be former leader intends to serve out the rest of his term which continues through January 2027.McConnell's Congressional career began back in 1984 when Ronald Reagan was President. The Kentucky republican has long embraced Reagan's conservatism and view of American exceptionalism.Today's Republican party is one Mitch McConnell played a key role in shaping. Yet as he gets ready to step down from leadership, McConnell seems out of step with the direction the party is heading.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Here in the U.S., the average age of retirement is 61. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky celebrated that birthday more than 20 years ago. And on Wednesday afternoon, he announced that while he still isn't ready to retire just yet, he will no longer lead Republicans in the Senate. I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics. And I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm with which they become accustomed. He recalled the beginning of his congressional career back in 1984 when Ronald Reagan was president. If you would have told me 40 years later that I would stand before you as the longest serving Senate leader in American history,

frankly, I would have thought you'd lost your mind. Consider this. Today's Republican Party is one that Mitch McConnell played a key role in shaping, even if he seems out of step with many aspects of the party today. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Thursday, February 29th. It's Consider This from NPR. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote his college thesis on Kentucky Senator Henry Clay and his role in the Compromise of 1850. That compromise was an attempt to avoid open conflict over slavery and broker a peace between free and slave states. That thesis began McConnell's lifelong fascination with Clay, and it kicked off his quest to become the next great senator

from Kentucky. This year marks his 38th as a senator from the Bluegrass State. And this week, McConnell reflected on his career as Kentucky senator when he announced he'd be stepping down as the Republican leader in the Senate. Journalist and author Michael Tackett is writing The Price of Power, a biography of McConnell. Hi there. Hi, how are you, Ari? I'm good. You know, it's a provocative title, The Price of Power, a biography of McConnell. Hi there. Hi, how are you, Ari? I'm good. It's a provocative title, The Price of Power. What price do you think Mitch McConnell paid to become the longest serving leader in Senate history? Well, there are several. One, he paid the price of being one of the least popular senators in the country, both among Republicans and Democrats. Two, he paid the price of having to endure the scorn

of the former president, Donald Trump. And three, he had to deal now with a very restive and combative right flank in the Senate. So he did pay a heavy price for it. But at the same time, he ended up, you know, as it turns out, got to write his last chapter by resigning on his own terms or saying that he was going to resign as leader. I can imagine somebody saying, well, if you're loathed by Democrats and Republicans, you must be doing something right. Is that really what's going on here? Or what made him so reviled by both parties for kind of different reasons? He knows what his constituency is. His constituency is the Republican conference in the Senate. So depending upon the year, he has to get either 25, 26 people on his side, or at least

a majority of those on his side. And he's been able to do that. The second constituency is the people of Kentucky. His approval numbers in Kentucky are dreadful. And yet he wins election usually by between 10 and 20 points every time he runs, except for his first election in 1984. So he's able to make the case to people that he delivers for them what matters to them, even if they don't like the delivery system or necessarily the person making the delivery. You've had access to McConnell's archives. You've interviewed him extensively. What's surprised you as you've been reporting

this book? A few things have surprised me. One is the depth to which his parents kept records and the extent to which he has kept records. So for my purposes, it's just a wonderful trove to go over to try to tell more of the complete story. I think that the thing that surprised me is people see McConnell in a sort of monochromatic fashion. They only see him in the Senate, walking from one place to the other, or more commonly, just standing in the well of the Senate, giving a speech. He's a much more complicated person, much more complex person. And believe it or not, Ari, he actually laughs. I've seen it. He's got a decent sense of humor.

Believe it or not, says a lot, really. Yeah. And he's also, he's very sentimental, really values a lot of family memories, really values a lot of personal relationships. And yet, you know, it could be a very lonely existence in his job. But the fact that he focused on that job single-mindedly is probably what sets him apart from a lot of other Senate leaders. Most, as you know, most members of the Senate wake up, look in the mirror and see the next president of the United States. And that was never his aspiration. McConnell's legacy is sweeping. He has said his biggest, most lasting impact has been on the courts. Would you agree with that? I don't think there's much question about that.

When Trump was elected, McConnell knew that the Trump agenda was going to be difficult because the Republicans did not have the numbers to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. However, because of the change in how the federal judiciary was selected, they could get by with a majority vote. So he also thought that sometimes legislation can be temporary and it can be overturned, it can be rewritten, But the judiciary is a more permanent imprint on American life. And so that's what he's set about to do. And with really ruthless efficiency. He has really shaped today's Republican Party and also feels out of step with the Trump party of today. In your conversations with him, has he reflected on seeing the GOP move away from

the party he was raised in and helped define through so much of the 20th and early 21st century? Yes. And this is particularly true in terms of the party's worldview. He comes to the Senate during the Reagan era when the idea of peace through strength, you know, to combat the Soviet Union and to rely on international alliances and international relationships to achieve that. The idea that international trade accords were actually a good idea, not a bad idea for the American economy. All those things have sort of fallen by the wayside in the Trump era as Trump has lurched the party and its people to the right. Interestingly, though, several members

of the Senate who are now some of his sharpest critics, just to name one, J.D. Vance of Ohio, almost certainly wouldn't be in the Senate without the help of the McConnell super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, which put tens of millions of dollars into Vance's race. So even as he laments the changes to the Republican Party that he might not approve of, does he feel in any way responsible for those changes? Does he have any regrets? You know, that's one thing that's been the harder wall to crack, is to get any kind of confessionals. In that sense, maybe at some point before my research is over, we'll hear those, but I haven't heard a lot

of them yet. What has he said to you about Trump? Or are you waiting for the book to publish to make news? Ari, you've got to spend the $24 like everybody else. He's made pretty clear repeatedly that he stands by the remarks he made both after January 6th and on his decision to vote to not impeach him, where he said that the criminal and civil justice systems would still hold him to account. So there's not much doubt that there's no love lost between the two men. McConnell is no longer going to be Senate leader after November, but he is going to serve out the rest of his term. And so what kind of role do you think he'll go on to play before he retires? This is funny. I was talking to some of his aides yesterday, and they were saying that's something that they're really eager to see.

What happens when he's unbridled by the burdens of leadership. What role does he play? That may end up happening. I mean, I think we'll see. So a lot of it's going to depend on who is that individual who succeeds McConnell. If it's somebody from the far right, then I don't really see him having much effect on the leader. If it's somebody who is among the three Johns, as they call them, senators.

Barrasso, Thun, and who's the third? Cornyn. Cornyn, right. Then I think he would have some insights because, you know, even those people who criticize him on a personal level, undisputably see his political talents and his tactical skills. I think it's telling that his staff sees it as being unbridled from the burdens of leadership because others might see it as no longer having access to the same levers of power. Well, there's no question about that. So this would be the ultimate inside play versus the big outside play. So he could maybe do things internally that he couldn't do now. I mean, one thing he told me was that he would tell

members, I don't care if you criticize me publicly, if that helps you politically. And so he does have a, it's not impenetrable, but he does have a thick skin. But you don't think we're going to see 82 year old Mitch McConnell as the bomb throwing renegade within the Senate Republican Party. I do not. Michael Tackett is Deputy Washington Bureau Chief for the Associated Press, and he is the author of the forthcoming book, The Price of Power, a biography of Mitch McConnell. Thanks so much for talking with us about him. Thank you, Ari. It's been a pleasure.

This episode was produced by Megan Lim and edited by Courtney Dornan. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.