Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), one of America's most inscrutable power players, has made the surprising decision to open his archive to a journalist, and sit for long interviews.
Why it matters: McConnell's signature has been to keep his counsel and hide his emotions — rarely showing his hand or sharing his mind, as he outfoxed opponents, generation after generation.
Mike Tackett — AP's deputy Washington bureau chief, and a former New York Times political reporter — has signed to write a McConnell biography, "The Price of Power," for Simon & Schuster.
- I'm told Tackett has been granted extensive interviews with McConnell and access to his vast archive — his receipts.
- The trove includes everything from childhood mementoes to official papers. Tackett has begun the interviews.
The book, from powerhouse editor Priscilla Painton, is billed as a deep dive on "one of the most guarded and powerful actors in the nation's capital ... one of the most consequential political figures of this century."
- No publication date is set — it's likely years away.
Between the lines: The wily McConnell — who would become majority leader if, as is quite possible, Republicans win the Senate back in November — is clearly thinking about his legacy.
- In 2016, McConnell — who turned 80 last month — published an autobiography with an incredibly apt title: "The Long Game."
Tackett told me he'll explore: "How is it with all the turmoil in the Republican Party— from the Tea Party through the Trump era, a period that saw two House Speakers step aside — that McConnell has retained his power and authority in the Republican Party?"
- "Unlike many other Senate leaders — Howard Baker, Bob Dole, even Bill Frist — McConnell never wanted any higher position than the one he has."
