Anonymous vote shakes Senate GOP leadership

There has been a lot of competition within the conference for coveted seats at the leadership table, positions that will undoubtedly raise lawmakers' national profiles.

This competition was sparked by the preplanned departure of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had been the longest-serving Senate party leader, as The Washington Examiner reported.

“I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name,” McConnell, 82, said earlier this year in announcing his scheduled exit as leader. “It is time for the next generation of leadership.”

McConnell, who had been the longest-serving leader in history, announced in February that he would be stepping down in November. He was 82 years old at the time.

Republicans' Next Steps

When Congress reconvenes for the first time since late September, a week after the November 5 elections, Senate Republicans will use secret ballots to select McConnell's replacement and other conference positions. Later on, we will determine the committee assignments and who will head each committee.

It is anticipated that the Senate Democrats will conduct their elections in early December. Although there will be little changes to their leadership ranks, they will experience a game of musical chairs within their respective committees.

Voting will be conducted exclusively among those currently sitting in the next Congress and among senators-elect; retiring senators will not be included.

One Senator's Take

Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, expressed his hope that the next Senate GOP leader to succeed Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, will bring about a change in "how the Senate operates."

“I want to see a majority leader who changes how the Senate operates, who democratizes it more,” Cruz said Sunday on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Cruz, who was critical of McConnell's leadership, stated that he has communicated to the three Republican candidates who are running for the position that he hopes they will agree to a "full and open amendment process" for budgets that are one thousand pages long.

On the Budgets

According to the Texas Republican, that process would allow each senator to have the ability to say “No, take that garbage out,” and it would “fundamentally change how the Senate operates.”

“At this point, I’m waiting to see if any of the leader candidates will make a commitment to allow … those full and open amendments,” he said.

Three Republican senators—Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Thune of South Dakota—have declared their wish to succeed McConnell. The Senate will move to select McConnell's replacement next week.