“First of all, that will make McConnell of Kentucky the senior most Senator in the ruling party (assuming that it’s the Republicans)”
Just how do you come up with that assertion? Both Lugar and Hatch were sworn in on exactly the same date, January 3, 1977, so how do you find Lugar to be the senior guy?
Read up on “Senate seniority system” ~ time as a Senator isn’t the only thing ~