Sharon Soderstrom: Chief of staff, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

For as long as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has led the Senate GOP conference, Sharon Soderstrom has been at his side. 

Soderstrom has led McConnell’s leadership office since 2010 and is considered a key part the Senate GOP leadership machine. 

The New York native is widely known as an expert on Senate rules and procedure, having served in the upper chamber for 40 years, including in leadership positions for each of the last three Senate Republican leaders.

She is also widely regarded for the counsel she provides to McConnell and members on Senate strategy. 

The Kentucky Republican hailed her in his memoir as the “Willie Mays of legislative staffers,” citing her role specifically in pushing him to restart talks with then-Vice President Biden to avert the fiscal cliff in 2012. Former aides in the office say that she constantly has her finger on the pulse of the conference and the full trust of the longest-serving leader in Senate history. 

“There are no talks that she doesn’t have some oversight on the process,” said John Ashbrook, a longtime political and communications adviser to McConnell. “She’s among the most talented people who has ever worked in the Senate.”

Top GOP lawmakers describe her as being an indispensable figure in the leadership universe who helps keep the trains running, especially when times can get chaotic.

“She’s a rock. And a rock star,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a McConnell ally, told The Hill. “It’s not easy dealing with all the prickly personalities in any organization, but especially in the United States Senate.”