In a post-election press conference on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proclaimed: "It's certainly a happy day for the GOP."
McConnell briefly congratulated President-elect Donald Trump, saying he ran "a sharper operation this time."
This is the same establishment senator who called Trump "stupid" and "despicable."
In one of his final campaign rallies in North Carolina, Trump said: “Hopefully we get rid of Mitch McConnell pretty soon ... Can you believe he endorsed me? Boy, that must have been a painful day in his life."
McConnell announced that he would be stepping down as the Senate Republican Conference Leader in January 2025, but would serve out the remainder of his current Senate term (which expires in January 2027).
In one of his last acts as the GOP leader in the Senate, McConnell is holding a secret ballot election on Nov. 13 to fill the majority leadership post.
On the ballot are Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, John Thune of South Dakota, and Rick Scott of Florida.
Cornyn and Thune are notorious anti-Trump RINOs, critics say.
Tucker Carlson described McConnell's move as a "coup."
“What the hell is going on in the U.S. Senate?” Carlson posted on X on Saturday afternoon. After Trump won, “Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the Senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on.”
Cornyn, Carlson said, is “an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s.”
The Senate leadership election “will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds,” Carlson wrote. “Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again.”
President-elect Trump wrote in a social media post:
Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!Urgent: Support Free Press Foundation
Scott said he was running for the leadership position to “upend the status quo & make sure President Trump’s agenda gets done.”
GOP Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee announced on Saturday that they would back Scott.
Donald Trump Jr. also warned against electing Cornyn or Thune as GOP Senate leader: “Both of them also voted to send billions more to Ukraine. MAGA must do everything in our power to stop either of these two RINOs from ever becoming Senate Leader!”
The president-elect's son also previously slammed Cornyn after the Texas senator negotiated bipartisan gun safety legislation, claiming Cornyn facilitated “the first step in the movement to TAKE YOUR GUNS AWAY.”
On Friday, the National Association for Gun Rights issued a statement against Cornyn: “The arch traitor John Cornyn is being floated as the next Senate Majority Leader. This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen. All of the momentum we have gained for gun rights could hit a wall if the man who spearheaded the largest gun control bill in decades is in charge.”
Former Trump White House adviser Garrett Ziegler forwarded the following: "John Cornyn wants to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate Majority leader — the one who shoved the BLM-demanded Juneteenth holiday upon you and has a long history of denouncing Trump. We've been through this clown show before with Kevin McCarthy; say no to the turtle protégé replacement!"
Thune told CNBC on Thursday that while he understood that Trump could “exert a considerable amount of influence” on the Senate leadership race, “my preference would be, and I think it’s probably in his best interest, to stay out of that.” He continued: “These Senate secret ballot elections are probably best left to senators, and he’s got to work with all of us when it’s all said and done.”
What the hell is going on in the US Senate? Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on.…
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 9, 2024
