Mitch McConnell isn't worried Trump will oust him as GOP Senate leader
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not particularly worried his Senate leadership days are numbered, as has been suggested by frequent McConnell critic and statement-maker extraordinaire former President Donald Trump.
Trump lost faith in the minority leader after the latter voted to certify President Biden's victory in the 2020 election, notes The Washington Examiner. Then, in the summer of 2021, Trump "began demanding that Republican senators remove McConnell as their leader" — a role he's held, mind you, for 15 years.
When asked by the Examiner if he's concerned Trump "might spark a revolt against his leadership," or prevent him from becoming majority leader should Republicans regain the chamber in the midterms, McConnell was seemingly unbothered by the suggestion.
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"Every reporter in town, including, I'm sure, you, have been probing to find one for months, right?" he said, alluding to the possibility of finding a Republican senator who agrees with Trump and wants to oust McConnell. "Have you found one?"
No Senate Republican has announced feeling such a way, writes the Examiner. "That's the answer to your question," McConnell said.
McConnell also laughed off Trump's "Old Crow" nickname for him, opting to take it instead as almost a compliment.
"It's my favorite bourbon," McConnell told the Examiner, referring to a drink of the same name.
"Aren't we using Old Crow as my moniker now?" he asked a member of his staff. "It was Henry Clay's favorite bourbon."
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
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