U.S.

The Leader of Today’s Republican Party

“McConnell was the final backstop against the complete Trumpification of the Senate.”

By The Editors
Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic
Courtesy of Washington Week With The Atlantic
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.  

The race to become the Senate’s top Republican is already under way. Mitch McConnell made the surprise announcement this week that he will step down from his role as Senate minority leader in November—ending his tenure as the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history and solidifying former President Donald Trump as the leader of today’s Republican Party.

Meanwhile, both President Joe Biden and Trump won their respective primaries on Tuesday, but the results underscored vulnerabilities in their 2024 bids for the White House.

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic and moderator, Jeffrey Goldberg, this week to discuss this and more are Adam Harris, a staff writer for The Atlantic; Leigh Ann Caldwell, a co-author of the Early 202 newsletter at The Washington Post and an anchor at Washington Post Live; Ed O’Keefe, a senior White House and political correspondent at CBS; and Nancy Youssef, a national-security correspondent at The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode and read the transcript here.