John Barrasso Passes on Senate Leadership Run, Goes for Number Two Slot Instead

John Barrasso

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, will not run for leadership of the conference following the retirement of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell from the position, according to a press release emailed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Barrasso has served in the Senate since June 2007 and was elected chairman of the conference in 2018, where he is among a trio of senior senators alongside McConnell and Senate Minority Whip John Thune who lead Senate Republicans. After McConnell announced his retirement from his post on Feb. 28, Barrasso was speculated to be considering a candidacy for the leadership, but on Tuesday announced he was running for the role of Assistant Republican Leader, who nominally holds the role of the party whip.

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