Former President Donald Trump has quietly been encouraging Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to mount a campaign to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the Senate’s Republican leader, Daines confirmed to POLITICO Thursday following reports that he had gained the former president’s support.
Daines said he thanked Trump for the vote of confidence but wouldn’t say whether he was planning to follow through with a run for Senate leadership, adding: “I told [Trump] the most important thing I can do this moment is to make sure we have a Senate majority in November.”
It’s the first hint to emerge out of Trump’s camp about the former president’s preference for McConnell’s replacement—and comes just a day after McConnell announced he wouldn’t run for the position again.
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Daines has been Trump’s preferred pick to lead the Senate GOP Senate even prior to McConnell’s surprise announcement Wednesday, Axios reported, citing Senate sources.
The Montana Republican hasn’t been mentioned as a successor to McConnell as often as three of his colleagues, who’ve been referred to as the “Three Johns” since last year. Those favorites include the current No. 2 in the chamber, John Thune (R-SD); the former No. 2 Republican John Cornyn (R-TX); and Senate GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY).
Of those three, only Cornyn has announced his intentions to seek the top leadership position. He did that in an internal statement sent to Republican senators on Thursday, saying his experience as McConnell’s No. 2 should make him the most-qualified politician for the job.
“From experience, I have learned what works in the Senate and what does not,” Cornyn said. “And I am confident Senate Republicans can restore our institution to the essential role it serves in our constitutional republic.”
There’s still nearly nine months to go before the Senate will choose who succeeds McConnell, who’s held the position unopposed since 2007. Unlike the House GOP’s messy leadership election last year, the Senate chooses its leaders in closed-door conference meetings by secret ballot.
Daines, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, deflected when asked about seeking McConnell’s job—but notably did not say no.
A source told Axios that Daines “appreciates the president's support but needs to focus on taking back the Senate” in November. Thune and Barrasso have made similar statements—suggesting that if they’re to announce their own runs at Senate leadership, they will come later down the road.
Trump has also told those close to him that he is a fan of Barrasso, who endorsed the former president in January, sources told Axios.
Thune and Cornyn both criticized Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but they each endorsed him in this fall’s election as it became clear he’d run away with the Republican nomination.
