Reuters/Nathan Howard
Former President Donald Trump has quietly been encouraging Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to mount a campaign to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the Senate’s Republican leader, Daines confirmed to POLITICO Thursday following reports that he had gained the former president’s support.
Daines said he thanked Trump for the vote of confidence but wouldn’t say whether he was planning to follow through with a run for Senate leadership, adding: “I told [Trump] the most important thing I can do this moment is to make sure we have a Senate majority in November.”
It’s the first hint to emerge out of Trump’s camp about the former president’s preference for McConnell’s replacement—and comes just a day after McConnell announced he wouldn’t run for the position again.