McConnell is between a rock and a hard place, right now, in terms of replicating the same degree of power he'd wielded during the past decade.

He can no longer effectively hide behind Donald Trump. Even worse for him: McConnell oozes narcissism and lacks charisma. Not a winning combo, for a party leader.

I suspect he may even be planning a potential exit strategy, before his current term is up. Him convincing the Kentucky state legislature to change state law to guarantee that his successor will be a Republican -- it could be foreshadowing that will end up being an "Aha!" moment, in hindsight (if, say, he resigns, once the kitchen heats up even more, in order to allegedly "spend more time with his family")...