By Niels Lesniewski and Meredith Dake and JM Rieger

In an exclusive interview with CQ Roll Call on Dec. 5, incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he intended to keep his seat on the Appropriations Committee in the 114th Congress. “I have not been active in committee work since I became leader. But I think it is to the advantage of my state to have the opportunity to come to meetings occasionally and to vote in person, rather than just by proxy,” McConnell said.