On Tuesday, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso announced he will be running for the No. 2 spot in the Senate Republican conference.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on February 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.
This comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he will be stepping down from the post at the end of the year.
Barrasso bowed out of the race for Senate Majority Leader after two colleagues announced that they would run.
Texas Senator John Cornyn and South Dakota Senator John Thune, both Republicans, recently announced they will campaign to replace McConnell, who last week said he would step down from leadership but remain in the Senate after the November elections.
Barrasso released a statement explaining that he had time to reflect on how to best serve and, "after a lot of thought, I will ask my colleagues for their support and help to work for them as the Assistant Republican Leader."
Where Does Barrasso Stand Currently?
As chairman of the Senate Republican conference, Barrasso is currently No. 3 in leadership. The Wyoming senator's acquiescing to his colleagues means the race now comes down to Cornyn and Thune, the latter of which replaced Cornyn as McConnell's No. 2 in leadership five years ago.
Senate party leaders are elected away from the public eye by secret ballot. Though there are only two in the race at this time, other candidates could emerge later from party segments that have been critical of Mitch McConnell, such as Florida Senator Rick Scott, who challenged McConnell during the last election for Senate Majority Leader at the behest of former President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Scott posted a photo on X, formerly Twitter, of himself and Trump.
"Great to see President Trump tonight," Scott wrote. "We're going to continue working together to win big in 2024 and fix Washington."McConnell has butted heads with Donald Trump in the past but has reportedly been in talks behind closed doors regarding a possible endorsement of Trump.
Thune and Cornyn have both endorsed Trump in the past after also locking horns with him.
"I'm going to need to be able to work with the president, and I think he's got a very good shot at being the next president," Thune told local news outlet Dakota News Now when he announced his run for leader on Monday.
