Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had good qualities. He pushed through Trump’s judicial nominees during the first presidency, got his tax cuts passed, and is a noted legislative strategist and tactician. It doesn’t mean he always bats a thousand, but McConnell got key portions of the Trump agenda passed after the 2016 election.
Now, he’s erased all that goodwill with this dastardly vote against Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. McConnell’s defection, plus that of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), led to Vice President JD Vance performing his constitutional duty to break the tie.
Mitch McConnell just voted NO on President Trump’s secretary of defense nominee
This led to VP Vance having to rush down to cast a tie-breaking vote, only the 2nd such vote in U.S. history
As Republican Senators gather around to congratulate Vance, notice McConnell walk over… pic.twitter.com/jPGxgJMTRR
— Zach Henry (@zhenryaz) January 25, 2025
McConnell explained his decision in a lengthy statement, but after he voted, he was caught frolicking with Senate Democrats:
anytime I see an elected official release a very long statement about something https://t.co/jPisSm4JmE pic.twitter.com/E1YSxRDFEW
— Alex Colorado (@alexcolor) January 25, 2025
“The single most