With Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell retiring in Kentucky, GOP officials are optimistic about holding on to the seat. The monthslong question, however, has been which of the party’s top contenders would get the nomination.

Much of the right had already rallied behind Rep. Andy Barr, whose candidacy is perhaps best known for a recent campaign ad in which he boasted, “It’s not a sin to be white, it’s not against the law to be male, and it shouldn’t be disqualifying to be a Christian.” He nevertheless faced a primary against former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris, who enjoyed the backing of billionaire Republican megadonor Elon Musk, who invested $10 million in Morris’ candidacy.

Late last week, the GOP field narrowed from three candidates to two. The Associated Press reported:

President Donald Trump entered the fray of another Republican primary Friday by endorsing Kentucky congressman Andy Barr for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader. […]

In a Truth Social post just before his endorsement of Barr, Trump announced that he’d asked Morris to “step aside” from the race to join his administration as an ambassador.

The president didn’t elaborate on the specific office he would reward Morris with, writing, “I’ve asked Nate to step aside from that Race to take a role in my Administration as an Ambassador. … We will be announcing Nate’s new role soon.”

As a practical matter, Barr is now very well positioned to succeed. Indeed, shortly after Trump endorsed him, Senate Republican leaders, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, also threw their backing behind the congressman, leaving little doubt he’s the odds-on favorite ahead of primary day in Kentucky, which is just two weeks away.

But before the political world moves on, there are a couple of related dimensions to this to keep in mind.

First, to a degree without modern precedent, the White House keeps using ambassadorships as consolation prizes, and the Morris example is just the latest in a broader pattern.

Second, remember Joe Sestak?

In 2010, the Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania made an offhand comment about being offered a job in the Obama administration if he agreed not to run against then-incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, who had switched parties to become a Democrat a year earlier.

The remark didn’t seem especially provocative, but Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California described it as a scandal comparable to Watergate, and conservative commentator Jeffrey Kuhner similarly argued at the time, in reference to the Sestak matter, “The White House is facing a major scandal — one that threatens to bring down President Obama. It could be his Watergate.”

In hindsight, the claims were obviously quite silly, and the story (such as it was) quickly evaporated. But 16 years later, a Republican president has offered a candidate a job as part of a deal to get him out of a Senate race, and it’s hard not to notice the lack of hysteria from those who saw rumors of a Sestak offer as a meaningful controversy.

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