Suppress your gag reflex momentarily and pretend you are a Republican. Hold that food down.

If you were, you would recognize that well beyond presidents, the single most valuable asset your party has had for the last 15-20 years is Mitch McConnell.

McConnell is a man so shameless that he could deny Merrick Garland a seat on the SCOTUS while blasting Coney-Barrett right on through. He also changes the rules on a whim whenever he is the majority leader to work in his favor. No one likes him. Democrats despise him as a person, Republicans find him to be a dolt with no personality. But he’s a damned useful tool and he doesn’t give a fck what anyone else thinks. He is the perfect leader for your party in the senate.

But he chewed Trump’s ass out after the second impeachment and isn’t subservient enough to Trump (which is not to say he isn’t subservient, just not enough), and thus it is that Trump is trying to mount a challenge, to put a real Trumper at the top of the Republican minority in the Senate.

From a Wall Street Journal Report:

Mr. Trump has spoken recently with senators and allies about trying to depose Mr. McConnell and whether any Republicans are interested in mounting a challenge, according to people familiar with the conversations. There is little appetite among Senate Republicans for such a plan, lawmakers and aides said, but the discussions risk driving a wedge deeper between the most influential figure in the Republican Party and its highest-ranking member in elected office.

Trump has said: “They ought to. I think he’s very bad for the Republican Party.”

Quite obviously, this all goes back to McConnell refusing to kiss the ring, or at least not kiss with full… never mind. He retains some independence from Trump and that will not be tolerated. Trump’s problem is that he’s trying to recruit from a crop of Senators that have very little power compared to McConnell. The Josh Hawleys and Ted Cruz’s are hated more than McConnell.

Still, this could be a real issue going forward. The more Trump pushes members of McConnell’s caucus, the more McConnell will push back on those members, perhaps creating a divide that begins to matter when it comes to actual votes. Ben Sasse, Murkowski, a few others, there are some Republicans that are not horrible people, meaning they’re not MAGAs. It could get interesting.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LeftScoop.news. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.