Mitch McConnell Announces New Senate Roles

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will chair two key committees in the new Congress, according to his announcement on Thursday. McConnell said he will head the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Senate Rules Committee. The longest-serving senator in U.S. history is transitioning away from his role in GOP leadership. “America’s national security interests face the gravest array of threats since the Second World War,” McConnell wrote in a Nov. 21 statement. “At this critical moment, a new Senate Republican majority has a responsibility to secure the future of U.S. leadership and primacy. I intend to play an active role in this urgent mission as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and I look forward to working closely with incoming Chair Susan Collins to accomplish our shared goal.”...