You did. Republicans are in the Senate minority. Tortoise is their leader there. That makes him the top
Republican in the Senate. It's a bit like being the boss (top) guy on the 2nd rung of a Mafia hierarchy.
Unless i'm missing something you just have a little mental quirk taking you to thinking something like
- minority isn't top, so minority leader can't be top, so McConnell can't be top Republican there.
The brain is a brilliant organ, with a sense of humor, which likes to play tricks on us sometimes.
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”