"No longer in charge, Sen. Mitch McConnell is speaking his mind," said Lisa Mascaro in the Associated Press. Now in his seventh and final term, the 83-year-old former Senate Republican leader has opposed President Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet nominees — "alone."
Last week, McConnell was the sole GOP senator to vote against confirming Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, calling them unqualified and extreme. He also voted "no" on Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary. That's because McConnell is an actual conservative, not a Trumpist, said Jay Nordlinger in National Review. He "tells the truth" about the Jan. 6. insurrection and the 2020 election results, fully supports Ukraine, and opposes Trump's tariffs as a tax on Americans. A furious Trump called McConnell a "loser" and "failure" for voting against Gabbard and Kennedy, both of whom used to be "despised" by Republicans. "So who changed? The Republicans or McConnell? Not McConnell."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'Even authoritarian regimes need a measure of public support — the consent of at least some of the governed'instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ousterSpeed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
-
The EPA: Let’s forget about climate changeFeature You’ll miss the EPA when it’s been gutted, said former EPA heads
-
Schumer: Did he betray the Democrats?Feature 'Schumer had only bad political options'
-
USPS Postmaster General DeJoy steps downSpeed Read Louis DeJoy faced ongoing pressure from the Trump administration as they continue to seek power over the postal system
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deporteesspeed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
-
'There is a certain kind of strength in refusing to concede error'instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chatSpeed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
