Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing back on his haters who have called on him to resign.
“They’ve had their shot,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to Sen. Rick Scott’s failed bid for the leader job in 2022.
The Kentucky Republican has been lambasted by members of his party for his support of a bipartisan border policy bill that included aid for Ukraine, which Senate Republicans blew up this week because of opposition to the border deal.
Mr. McConnell was on board with the bill until it became clear it would not m the House.
In the interview, Mr. McConnell said he hasn’t made any announcements yet on whether he’ll run for leader again after the November general election.
Much like people question the mental acuity of President Biden and former President Donald Trump, Mr. McConnell, 81, has faced health concerns. He had two episodes where he froze, staring into the distance, in public appearances.
Now, the calls for him to step down have grown louder.
Mr. McConnell brushed off the division in his conference, explaining that it’s nothing new.
“We’ve always had a lot of divisions,” he said.
“I think the fact that we’re in a presidential election, the fact that the border is a huge issue to both sides elevated this debate,” he said. “But from my perspective, it’s just another tough situation we’ve been in a lot of times over the last 18 years.”
GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas are just two of Mr. McConnell’s colleagues who have expressed their frustration with his leadership.
Mr. Cruz called Mr. McConnell’s support of the border security bill his worst” mistake yet and called for him to resign.
“Look, I think it is well past time. I think there have been a lot of enormous mistakes. But this mistake was the worst,” Mr. Cruz told Fox Business. “And throughout this battle, he goes out and what he is saying is benefiting [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats.”
Mr. McConnell responded to Mr. Cruz, saying, “I think we can all agree Senator Cruz is not a fan.”
Mr. Lee called the leadership’s agreement with Democrats a “disqualifying betrayal.”
“Senate GOP leadership screwed this up — and screwed us,” Mr. Lee wrote on social media. “Even while refusing to let us see the bill they claimed to be negotiating on our behalf — for MONTHS — they were never in doubt, insisting we’d be dumb and even unpatriotic NOT to support it. This is a disqualifying betrayal.”
Mr. McConnell has his supporters in the Senate Republican Conference.
Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, said that calls for Mr. McConnell to resign are “definitely not the majority view.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said that Mr. McConnell “is our leader and he’s going to continue to be our leader. I mean, anybody here could call a conference and try to remove him. No one’s doing that.”