pulling the strings

GOP senators reportedly aren't on board with Trump's push to end McConnell's leadership run

Former President Donald Trump has spoken with GOP senators about trying to end Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) lengthy leadership run, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the conversations. The two have been at odds ever since McConnell refused to support Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

He's reportedly not gaining much traction in his efforts, however. McConnell, whose term as party leader runs through the end of 2022, remains popular among his colleagues, and even some of Trump's closer confidantes in the upper chamber, like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and John Kennedy (R-La.), aren't on board. Tuberville said he's not "going to get in that fight," and praised McConnell for "doing a good job," while Kennedy, known for his ability to turn a phrase, equated Trump's odds of ousting McConnell from his perch to that of a donkey learning to fly, the Journal notes.

What's more, none of the Republican Senate challengers Trump has endorsed so far, including Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), have echoed his anti-McConnell call. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.