For many of his 36 years in the Senate, Addison Mitchell McConnell III has cultivated an image as a master political and legislative tactician, a consummate insider who knows how to gain power and use it to the fullest. He was credited with masterminding Republican victories when he ran Senate campaign strategy in the late 1990s, rising to party leader and leveraging chamber rules to thwart much of President Barack Obama’s agenda and to block judicial nominees, including a key Supreme Court seat. He used his fundraising prowess to anoint favored Senate candidates with the best chances of winning while undercutting fringe figures who might be less palatable. Under Trump, McConnell ushered hundreds of conservative judges to the federal bench, an achievement many saw as an indication of McConnell’s ability to work his influence over an inexperienced administration.

Source: Washington Post November 09, 2021 03:50 UTC