phone calls, texts and social media comments. watch the state of the union address. or online at c-span.org. >> if you ever missed any of c-span's coverage, you can find it online anytime at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates and other events feature markers that guide you to interesting and newsworthy highlights. these points of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen when you hit play on select videos. this timeline tool makes it easy to quickly get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. scroll through and spend a few minutes on c-span's points of interest. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell will be stepping down as republican leader in november. hed as party leader since

2007, the longest stint in senate history. he plans to remain in the senate until his current term expires in january 2027. nt. was it a surprise yesterday? >> the decision itself was not necessarily a surprise to a lot of people. there were questions as to if he would try to go for a leadership position again. the fact he decided to step down was not shocking to many people i was talking to, but the fact that he did it yesterday and the timing of it was a surprise to most people. only a handful of people knew ahead of time that he was planning to announce this decision yesterday. there was surprise on the timing

. host: who was given a heads up? guest: i have heard from a couple of people who are close to mcconnell who got a little bit of a heads up that this would be coming, the lead no he told colleagues. many of the senators did not know ahead of time that mcconnell was planning to make this announcement yesterday. we all got to talk to the senators reacting to the news because the vast majority of them had no idea until yesterday. host: what led to his decision? guest: that is a good question.

he laid out reasons himself of course, he already has the longest serving leader in history. he has already kind of reached that goal and made mention of the fact that he understands political wind is changing. at least part of his conference in recent weeks, we know there was a big showdown over the deal that ultimately failed. he was unable to get half of his congress to vote for aid. trump is a big reason as well. we have seen time and time again that the former president continues to have a strong grip on the republican party.

there was kind of a breakup between the senate republican leader and donald trump. that certainly factors into it as well. he mentioned personal reasons saying he might want to step away, not wanting to hang on for too long. the death of his sister-in-law is a moment of reflection for him on what he wants to do. host: did it help play a role in his decision-making? guest: the people i talked to said that did not play a role, but he has had a difficult health journey the past couple of years. him freezing up on camera certainly sparked questions. but i'm sure that factored into

it, going back to last year when we were seeing some of those episodes. host: what senators are in the running to replace him as republican leader? guest: leadership election will happen in november and we are looking at the most likely candidates. we have john zune, the number two republican, number three in the senate and a texas senator who does not currently have a leadership role but has had leadership roles in the past. they offer a different direction for the party the senate. many see him as the front runner at this point, the more natural heir of mitch mcconnell.

but on the others, he does not have a good relationship in trump's circle, so that could be a hindrance to run for leader. john has been a long time endorse or of the former president and has backed a lot of the conservative style candidates so far. he is an interesting character to watch as well because of his appeal to the further right. whether we see both senators pull some power and sway. seems likely to make a run for this position. he also has a little bit of a difficult relationship with

former president trump, but he has never endorsed with any other challenger. host: you can follow her reporting on this story and others. >> c-span's "washington journal", our live forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in public policy. from washington and across the country. friday morning, we will talk about government funding deadlines, border security and u.s. aid to israel and ukraine first with an illinois democratic congresswoman then a florida republican congressman. and a long time consumer advocate, author and presidential candidate, ralph

nader, will talk about the presidential race and the launch of his newspaper, "capitol hill citizen." join the conversation live at 7:00 eastern friday morning on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> sunday on c-span's "q&a", a new york times white house correspondent shares her book american woman, about the modern evolution of first ladies of the united states, and the contributions by first ladies of both parties going back to hillary clinton. and their changing roles in the 21st century. >> melania trump highlighted for americans the fact that you don't have to do anything with his role if you don't want to. there have been first lady throughout history who did very little compared to hillary clinton or eleanor roosevelt. the fact that melania trump was doing this in our times as they

are is almost radical. >> kenny rogers with her book "american woman," sunday night on c-span's "q&a". you can listen to all of our podcasts on our free c-span now app. ♪ >> since 1979, in partnership with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress from panels and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row seat to how issues are debated and decided to. with no commentary, no interruptions and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> at a capitol hill news conference, house speaker mi