re: Potential candidates who could replace McConnell as Senate GOP leader

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"We’ve now 86’d: McCarthy, McDaniel, McConnell," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote on X. "Better days are ahead for the Republican Party."

Former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party,

Ira Shapiro, a former U.S. Senate staffer and author of "Broken: Can the Senate Save Itself and the Country?" predicted that Trump would handpick the next Senate GOP leader if he wins the general election in 2024.

"If Biden is re-elected, several members of McConnell's leadership team are possible successors, with John Thune probably the most likely to emerge. But everything depends on the presidential election," said Shapiro, who worked for Democratic senators including Jacob Javits, Gaylord Nelson, Abraham Ribicoff, Thomas Eagleton, Robert Byrd, and Jay Rockefeller.

]"If Trump wins, he will pick the next Senate Republican leader, and it will be a MAGA Republican—such as JD Vance or Marsha Blackburn—who would be slavishly subservient to him," he added.

Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., or Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would be other conservative allies that Trump might endorse for the leadership position.

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