Mitch McConnell angrily defends his decision to block election security bills

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was fired up on Monday.

McConnell, on the Senate floor, tore into Democrats and media — specifically MSNBC and Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank — for criticizing his decision to block election security bills last week. McConnell likened the pushback, which in some cases included critics labeling him a Russian asset, to McCarthyism. McConnell said it was a "shameful smear based on lies."

McConnell, who is not usually one of the more animated members of Congress, was reportedly visibly angry during his time on the floor as he defended his decision.

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McConnell argued that he was merely objecting to passing a clearly non-unanimous bill by unanimous consent, which he said even the Democrats would have expected. He said the objection was a routine occurrence. "It doesn't make Republicans traitors or un-American," he said. "It makes us policy makers with a different opinion. But the outrage industrial complex doesn't let a little thing like reality get in their way."

The senator added that "facts matter," but that hyper-partisanship has distorted the political landscape in Washington. However, Fox News' Shep Smith turned those words right back on McConnell. Tim O'Donnell