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Three Johns:16

Analyzing the post-McConnell sweepstakes.

Sens. John Barrasso, Mitch McConnell, John Thune, and John Cornyn in 2016.
Sens. John Barrasso, Mitch McConnell, John Thune, and John Cornyn in 2016. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Peter Hamby
September 5, 2023

Congress is back in session today after the summer recess, and the biggest topic of conversation on Capitol Hill isn’t the possibility of a government shutdown, the size of the next Farm Bill, or even a possible House impeachment of Joe Biden. It’s the future of Mitch McConnell, and whether the longest-serving party leader in the history of the Senate can continue to steer his 48 Republican colleagues in the upper chamber after a second unsettling health episode that played out on camera in Kentucky last week.