Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won election by fellow Republicans on Thursday to become Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January, fulfilling a long-held ambition.
The vote was unanimous, according to the senator’s office. McConnell officially takes up the post in January.
He becomes only the second Kentucky senator to hold the post. (The first was Democrat Alben Barkley, who was majority leader in the late 1930s and early ’40s and later served as vice president under President Truman.)
McConnell is currently the Senate minority leader. He’s served in the Senate since 1985 and won re-election earlier this month over Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Republicans look to have at least a 53-46 seat lead when McConnell officially becomes majority leader.
Agencies/Canadajournal