In line to be Senate majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell pledges to work with President Obama

Fresh off a victory on Tuesday Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is expected to be voted the Senate Majority Leader next week. As Senate majority leader, McConnell said "he intends to end gridlock and dysfunction in the Senate," Jack Brammer reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He also said "he would work with President Barack Obama on issues including trade agreements and tax reform, particularly reducing the corporate income tax rate." (Associated Press photo by J. Scott Applewhite: Sen. Mitch McConnell)

"He also said a Republican-led Senate will work longer hours, possibly late into the night on some occasions, and will allow consideration of amendments offered by both political parties and make committees more relevant," Brammer writes. "He complained that the Senate has not done much in recent years under Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, noting that the chamber has not considered an energy bill in seven years."

"McConnell, who will have to walk a political tightrope to keep the various factions of his caucus happy, said there will be disagreements with Obama, noting that Obama's veto pen makes him the only Democrat who 'counts,'" Brammer writes. "On foreign policy, McConnell said, immediate attention will be given to the Ebola virus crisis and relationships with Syrian rebels." (Read more)