Trump Is the Most Important Vote in Senate Leadership

The first candidate to throw his hat in the ring, John Cornyn, called Donald Trump beforehand.

President Donald Trump points

Former President Donald Trump hasn’t publicly weighed in on the Senate Republican leadership race ... yet. Alex Brandon/AP

As Senate Republicans prepare to pick their next leader, some lawmakers are worried it won’t be fellow senators with the most important voice but Donald Trump.

Asked what role the former president should play in the race, Sen. Chuck Grassley gave a decisive, “Nothing.” Sen. Bill Cassidy said Trump “should play no role whatsoever.”

But the right flank of the party has felt for years that outgoing Leader Mitch McConnell was out of step with Trump’s view of the world — something the Kentuckian acknowledged himself. And some of them are cheering on the prospect of a leader with a better relationship with the former president.