OPINION: The Last of the Republican Mohicans: McConnell, Murkowski, and Collins Are Fighting a Lost War

Donald Trump is back in the White House, and the Republican Party is firmly his. The old-guard GOP—the party of Bush, McCain, and Romney—is dead and buried, replaced by an America First movement that is stronger than ever.

But not everyone got the memo.

A few holdouts from the old establishment—Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and the fading Mitch McConnell—are still clinging to their power, trying to stand in the way of Trump’s agenda. They are the Last of the Republican Mohicans, relics of a party that no longer exists, desperately fighting to maintain relevance in a GOP that has moved on without them.

Their resistance is not a sign of strength. It’s the last gasp of a dying political class, one that has run out of time, power, and options.

McConnell’s Final Act

For decades, Mitch McConnell was the ultimate Washington insider, the Senate’s master of maneuvering. He blocked Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, pushed through conservative judges, and kept the Republican caucus in line. Love him or hate him, he knew how to wield power.

Not anymore.

McConnell is a shadow of his former self. His grip on Senate Republicans has weakened, his ability to stall legislation is no longer absolute, and his declining health has left him visibly struggling to keep up. At 82, this is likely his last term, and with nothing left to lose, he is playing the only card he has left: obstructing Trump’s second-term agenda, not because he thinks he can win, but because it’s all he has left.

But here’s the problem for McConnell—he doesn’t run the party anymore. The days of Republican senators bowing to his authority are over. The House GOP has fully embraced America First, electing their Speaker on the first ballot without the backroom chaos of past leadership fights. The Senate isn’t far behind.

Trump is calling the shots now, and McConnell knows it. That’s why his obstruction isn’t strategic—it’s desperate. He isn’t shaping the party’s future; he’s stalling for time before it moves on without him.

Murkowski and Collins: The Last Swing Vote Survivors

If McConnell is fighting time, Murkowski and Collins are fighting irrelevance.

For years, they played the role of the GOP’s swing votes, making themselves indispensable by holding up key legislation and forcing concessions from Republican and Democratic presidents alike. But in the Trump era, their influence has shrunk. They aren’t kingmakers anymore—they’re just two senators from deep-red states who increasingly find themselves isolated from the party they claim to represent.

Their latest stunt? Trying—and failing—to block Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. They teamed up with Senate Democrats, hoping to sink the appointment, only to watch as Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to push Hegseth through.

It was a perfect example of how little power they have left. They can delay, they can grandstand, but they can’t win.

And the battle isn’t over. Murkowski and Collins are once again trying to slow-walk Kash Patel’s confirmation as FBI Director, using the same tired tricks. But everyone knows how this ends—Trump’s nominees will get through, with or without them.

Trump’s Next Move: Cleaning House in 2026

Trump isn’t just playing defense—he’s preparing for the next phase of the America First takeover. Murkowski and Collins are both up for re-election in 2026, and they won’t be facing weak, underfunded challengers. They’ll be going up against well-financed, Trump-backed America First candidates with the full support of the Republican base.

For Murkowski, surviving on Democratic crossover votes won’t be enough this time. And Collins, whose “moderate” act is wearing thin, will finally have to answer to a GOP electorate that has no patience for half-measures.

McConnell, meanwhile, doesn’t have another re-election to worry about. But his legacy? That’s already set. He’ll be remembered not as a conservative warrior, not as a statesman, but as a man who spent his final years fighting the inevitable.

The End of the Mohicans

The GOP is Trump’s party now. The base is energized, the movement is unified, and the resistance from within is crumbling. McConnell, Murkowski, and Collins may still hold their titles, but their influence is vanishing before their eyes.

They are the Last of the Republican Mohicans, standing alone in a party that no longer belongs to them.

And soon, they’ll be gone too.

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