GOP’s McConnell reelected Senate minority leader
WASHINGTON >> Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reelected Senate minority leader on Wednesday, overcoming the first-ever challenge to his leadership following a disappointing midterms performance for Republicans.
While McConnell’s fate as leader was never really in doubt, the challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida ended a remarkable week of public infighting among Republicans that highlighted a delicate moment in McConnell’s tenure. He still has overwhelming support in his conference, but is losing some key allies to retirement as new members - at least one backed aggressively by former president Donald Trump - arrive.
McConnell, who was reelected to the job in a 37-10 vote, has spent more than a decade keeping his conference largely in lockstep, but it’s not clear yet how the changing makeup of the chamber will affect his ability to lead.
“I don’t own this job,” McConnell said after winning the secret-ballot election following a nearly three-and-ahalf-hour discussion during which some senators raised objections to his leadership style. “I’m not in any way offended by having an opponent or having a few votes in the opposition.
“And I’m pretty proud of 37 to 10,” he added.
McConnell has faced and survived tumult within his caucus in the past. He clashed with Jim DeMint, a former senator from South Carolina associated with the tea party movement, whose political allies later funded an unsuccessful primary challenge against McConnell in Kentucky. And on Wednesday, McConnell said he’s faced bleaker political outcomes than the 2022 midterms election before.
“I was here in ‘08 - talk about getting clobbered,” he said. “There were 40 of us. Forty. It took us six years to crawl out of the hole. I’m disappointed in the outcome this year, but 50 is a hell of a lot better than 40.”
Still, many Republicans are eager to have more say in McConnell’s decisionmaking, which could mean headaches for the leader as he steers the minority during a presidential election cycle.
“I think what you’ll see is more activism on the part of the entire conference,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). Several members expressed their frustration about being cut out of “backroom deals” on legislation and wanted to see a more inclusive process within the conference, he added.
“Mitch took it to heart,” Cramer said of the criticism.
Allies of Scott’s and McConnell’s have been trading insults since Senate Republicans failed to gain a single seat in the midterms. McConnell warned last summer that Senate Republicans had a “candidate quality” problem, after Trump backed some first-time candidates in key battlegrounds who struggled in their races. Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, criticized McConnell for not releasing a Republican agenda ahead of the midterms, and Trump has also sought to blame the longtime leader.
Others have raised questions about Scott’s handling of the NRSC, and have called for an audit or postmortem of how he handled funds this cycle.
Those tensions led to the first challenge against a Senate leader of either party since 1996. But McConnell’s eventual victory was never in doubt, even if a few of his members are being more vocal in their criticism of him compared to the past.
At a news conference after the vote, McConnell said he informed members of “tools” they could use to force discussions among the caucus, and pointed out that the group gets together three times a week, when any member can raise concerns.
The Scott-McConnell feud