Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has warned that he has no plans to leave the Senate even after he steps down as the GOP leader, saying that his goal is to fight the “isolationist movement” in his own party.
McConnell Refuses To Leave Senate
McConnell, 82, told WHAS that though he will be giving up his leadership post later this year, he plans to serve out the rest of his Senate term, which doesn’t end until 2026.
“I’m particularly involved in actually fighting back against the isolationist movement in my own party. And some in the other as well. And the symbol of that lately is: Are we going to help Ukraine or not?” McConnell said, according to Politico. “I’ve got this sort of on my mind for the next couple years as something I’m going to focus on.”
McConnell made similar comments during another interview this week.
“I’m not leaving the Senate. And I’m particularly involved in fighting back against the isolationist movement,” McConnell said, according to The New York Post. “For the next couple of years, it’s something I’m going to focus on.”
McConnell added that Americans are living through “the most dangerous time for the free world since right [before] the Berlin Wall fell down.”
“My party tends to be isolationist when there’s a Democrat in the White House,” McConnell explained. “Most Republicans voted against Lend-Lease going into World War II and Pearl Harbor straightened that out.”
Related: Mitch McConnell Argues That Foreign Aid Bill Is ‘Only Game In Town, Put The Border Aside’ – Report
McConnell Disagrees With Rand Paul
When asked about how his views on foreign aid differs from those of his fellow Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who has been outspoken about his view that the U.S. should not send more money to Ukraine, McConnell replied that Paul “would be the first one to say that he’s an isolationist” and that the two of them have never agreed on foreign policy.
McConnell went on to say that he finds it disturbing that an increasing number of Senate Republicans are coming around to Paul’s view of this, and are opting against voting to send more money to Ukraine.
“What’s made it more troublesome is, it seems to me, others are heading in that direction, making arguments that are easily refuted. We’re not losing any of our troops, the Ukrainians are the ones doing the fighting,” McConnell lamented. “If the Russians take Ukraine, some NATO country would be next and then we will be right in the middle of it.”
McConnell Declines To Discuss Trump
The former President Donald Trump has made it clear that he is also not a fan of sending more aid to Ukraine. Though McConnell offered an unenthusiastic endorsement of Trump last month, he has seemingly tried to avoid talking about the former president publicly as of late.
“I’ve got my hands full dealing with the Senate,” McConnell said when asked if he’s spoken with Trump recently. “Biden’s got problems too. Both these candidates don’t score very well with the public. One of them’s going to win. What am I going to do? I’m going to concentrate on trying to turn my job over to the next majority leader.”
McConnell also said that his main priority is ensuring that Republicans flip the Senate this November.
“I’d like the person who succeeds me to be the majority leader,” he concluded.
McConnell isn’t even trying to hide the fact that he’s America Last at this point, so it’s unfortunate that he’s so determined to finish out his term. In the end, he’s the last kind of Republican that the right needs in the Senate during this critical time, so here’s hoping he reconsiders his decision and mercifully retires.
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