WASHINGTON — The anarchy that overran the U.S. Capitol this week obscured another seismic event that shifted Washington power: For the first time in six years, Mitch McConnell will no longer run the U.S. Senate.
At the same time, with Donald Trump on his way out as a defeated former president, McConnell will essentially be elevated to the most important Republican in the nation’s capital.
The Kentuckian’s formal loss of congressional power at the same time he gains influence within his party is a paradox that will help define the next two years of governing and the initial direction of the GOP as it navigates a fractious new environment.
