Republicans Who Backed McConnell’s Ukraine Boondoggle Don’t Deserve To Replace Him

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is stepping down as party leader at the end of this year, which means the bid to replace America’s least popular politician is off to the races.

On Wednesday, Kentucky’s senior senator announced plans to abdicate his post as head of the Senate GOP in November but stopped short of resigning from office. “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” McConnell said, after having spent nearly 40 years in Congress getting rich from American taxpayers.

While McConnell’s departure from leadership is a welcome development (that should come a lot sooner), the battle to replace America’s longest-serving Senate party leader will be crucial to the Senate GOP’s direction going forward. For Senate Republicans, that means finding a replacement who will adhere to the wishes of their voters and place American interests first.