Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber as Congress returns for the lame-duck session at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
No longer in charge, Sen. Mitch McConnell has been speaking his mind, the long-serving GOP leader rejecting President Donald Trump’s more high-profile Cabinet nominees — alone at times, among the Republicans, casting his no votes.
When it came to Pete Hegseth, now the defense secretary, who faced allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive behavior toward women, McConnell said the combat veteran had “failed, as yet, to demonstrate” he was ready for the job.
On Tulsi Gabbard, who was sworn in this week as director of national intelligence, he said she has displayed “a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” citing in particular her views toward Russia, China and the security breach by former government contractor Edward Snowden.
And as Senate Republicans confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, McConnell, a survivor of childhood polio who used a wheelchair during the vote, opposed.
“A record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts,” the Kentucky senator said.
This is McConnell unplugged, three weeks into the Trump administration, and his new role as no longer the Senate GOP leader but one of 100 senators. It is testing the strength, but also the limits, of his influence on the institution, where he has been a monumental presence for nearly 40 years.
▶ Read more about McConnell’s opposition to Trump’s cabinet picks
