Stay tuned after the show for a message from Morgan Stanley.

Good Monday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing.

And I'm Jake Sherman. Today marks the beginning of the post-Trump era in American politics.

To the extent he still has political currency, it dwindles every day as January 20th draws closer.

Members of his own party are already suggesting his

times up. His staff is looking for new jobs. Markets are looking up and analysts say it's because

of the expected calm in American politics. In the UK, Boris Johnson's aides are saying the Trump

era was not good for them and they vow to forge a good relationship with Joe Biden. Around the world and at home,

Trump has been written off. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has just won re-election by nearly

20 points, and depending on what happens in Georgia, he could return to lead a Senate Republican

conference that's larger than most anybody expected. His goal is twofold, exercising power

and protecting his colleagues. In the next few months,

those goals are one and the same. McConnell's first charge over the next few months will be to pump

enough money into Georgia to protect Kelly Leffler and David Perdue, both staunch Trump supporters

who are trying to win in the state Joe Biden just won. Winning in Georgia means McConnell's power

increases. Losing it means it decreases. It's as simple as that.

He has a tough 2022 Senate map. He will have competitive races with Senators Marco Rubio in Florida, Lisa

Murkowski in Alaska, Roy Blunt in Missouri, an open seat in North Carolina, Rob Portman in Ohio,

an open seat in Pennsylvania, and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin.

The Lefler seat comes up again in 2022, as does Mark Kelly's Arizona seat, which he will undoubtedly

try to win. He has the potential retirees in 86-year-old Richard Shelby in Alabama, 87-year-old

Chuck Grassley, and Jerry Moran in Kansas. In this lame duck,

...