Steven S. Smith, a political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said Blunt would certainly like to be Senate GOP leader, but with McConnell winning reelection last year, “his way is likely blocked for the foreseeable future.”
Another potential factor for Blunt’s retirement “that’s easy to speculate about is that he doesn’t like the way Washington politics are running.”
“He’s always billed as an institutionalist,” Smith said, adding that Blunt has “a greater commitment to good government, public service and the institution than we see among many of his colleagues.”
“That must be a source of frustration for him,” he added. “They don’t show the same commitment to being — this is not a pejorative term for me — a professional politician, a professional legislator. He must see some of them as more or less professional ideologues who appeal to an outside constituency or national audience as a priority over getting things done in Congress.”
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