Many GOP senators are resisting calls for McConnell to resign — the reason why may surprise you

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, one of the many Republicans running against frontrunner Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, has been arguing that President Joe Biden, now 80, is too old to be seeking reelection. And she has also called for 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to consider resigning in light of his health problems, describing the U.S. Senate as "the most privileged nursing home in the country" — a comment Haley's critics have attacked as ageist.

But among GOP senators, Haley isn't finding a large audience for her message. Even some of the Republicans are being mentioned as possible replacements for McConnell have said — at least publicly— that he shouldn't go until he is good and ready.

In an article published by The New Republic on September 6, journalist Grace Segers explains why many U.S. senators are in no hurry to see McConnell or 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) resign.

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"These recent incidents illuminate one of the defining characteristics of the Senate as an institution: the respect and support senators show for each other, even in the midst of daunting health challenges," Segers explains. "Privately, some senators have raised concerns about what the future holds for McConnell and for Feinstein. But even as they may whisper behind closed doors, senators have a history of publicly supporting their ailing colleagues — and a traditional deference to the right of an individual senator to choose the path their career takes as it winds down."

Segers notes that Republicans aren't the only ones in the U.S. Senate who have been wishing McConnell well. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said he "certainly" wished McConnell "the best," and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) jokingly remarked, "I told him that it was great to see him back, and I couldn't wait to disagree with him."

The Brookings Institute's Molly Reynolds told The New Republic that historically, U.S. senators have "displayed a very high degree of comity towards one another" and commented, "In an era of polarized, divided parties and strong partisanship, I think sometimes, those partisan dynamics can lead us to pay less attention to the individualistic nature of the Senate."

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Read The New Republic's full article at this link.