By Leah Cohen

This article was originally published in The Washington Independent Review of Books here.

With his latest book, The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America, Ira Shapiro completes his critically acclaimed trilogy on the U.S. Senate. In addition to writing, the former Senate staffer and trade ambassador for the Clinton Administration serves as president of Ira Shapiro Global Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm focused on trade policy and international government relations. A new edition of The Betrayal includes an updated foreword that adds the events of 2022-2023 to the story.

The Betrayal first came out in 2022. Why did you feel compelled to publish an updated version so soon, in 2024?

I was delighted that my publisher (Rowman & Littlefield) thought that The Betrayal was an important book that warranted a paperback edition. Jonathan Sisk, R&L’s senior editor, and I quickly agreed that the past two years (2022-23) were part of a continuing story about the Senate’s performance during this period dominated by Donald Trump, necessitating a substantial new foreword to bring the story up to date. I believe the updated edition provides important perspectives on the success of the Biden presidency; the Senate’s role in a surprising set of bipartisan accomplishments; Trump’s unexpected resilience and continued dominance of the Republican Party; the rampaging Supreme Court supermajority; and the consequences of the Republican Senate’s catastrophic failure to stop Trump’s assault on our democracy when it had the opportunity and the responsibility to do so. America has watched as the legal system has struggled to make up for the failure of the Senate to perform its constitutional role.

What was the process like for writing from ideation to completion?

I wrote The Betrayal in 2021 in anger about the Republican Senate’s knowing and deliberate failure to protect our democracy from Trump, particularly in the crisis year of 2020, including their last clear chance in the second impeachment trial in February 2021. The book told the story of how the Senate Republicans repeatedly put partisanship above patriotism. They stood by while America had an unhinged president during a pandemic, which caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to die needlessly. The book also illustrated that it was clear that Trump was not going to accept the results of the election unless he won. I was incensed that McConnell and his Senate roused [themselves] from torpor only long enough to ram through the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett eight days before Election Day. By the time I wrote the foreword to the paperback, my white-hot anger had become deep concern and growing dread for the condition and future of our country.

How did your view of the Senate evolve over the decade you spent researching and writing the trilogy? Or did it?

I am very proud that Brookings Institution scholar William A. Galston, one of my wisest and most experienced political commentators, said that The Betrayal “completed an epic trilogy” about the modern Senate. I came of age during the last constitutional crisis, when Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam War tore America apart and then led almost inexorably into Richard Nixon’s abuses of power known as Watergate. During that difficult period, the Senate was a beacon of hope that drew many idealistic young people to public service. I became a lawyer to work in the Senate, and I had 12 great years there from 1975-87. Decades later, dismayed by the Senate’s long decline, I circled back to write The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis (2012). I wanted to show how the Senate worked when it was at its best, hoping to inspire senators and Senate leaders to emulate their great predecessors. Can’t claim to have succeeded; unfortunately, the second and third books chart the decline and accelerating downward spiral. The once-great Senate becomes the “broken” Senate (2018) and then the Senate that betrayed America (2022).

It’s clear how you see Mitch McConnell’s legacy vis-à-vis the Senate, but how do you imagine he sees it? Is it “mission accomplished,” or did things go off the rails for him?

That’s a great question! The longest-serving Senate leader ever, McConnell is by any measure one of the most impactful political leaders in our history; he has profoundly affected all three branches of government. I have no doubt that McConnell was surprised that Trump might be president again; he expected Trump’s power to wither away after the January 6th attack on the Capitol. McConnell’s steadfast advocacy for Ukraine has been his finest hour; he knows with absolute certainty that Trump is a danger to Ukraine and [to] the security of our NATO allies and America. But he endorsed Trump anyway because ultimately what matters most to him is Republican power — and winning. In February 2024, McConnell waxed philosophical, saying: “History will settle every account.” His legacy will be one thing he didn’t do — stop Trump’s assault on our democracy — and one thing he did: create the radical Supreme Court supermajority. And at a time when America desperately needed a great Senate leader like Howard Baker to help bring us together, we had Mitch McConnell, a fiercely effective and endlessly divisive partisan.

What’s next for you as an author? Do you anticipate a fourth book?

Thanks for asking. There won’t be another Senate book; a trilogy is enough. I love to write, and I hope to find another subject that excites me. But for this year, I’m entirely focused on writing articles and speaking about the stakes in the presidential and Congressional elections. Everything else — other than family and friends — can wait.