Senate Republicans weigh what to do with Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell “froze” again on Wednesday, August 30, in front of reporters, worrying members of his staff and, of course, his Republican colleagues in the Senate. Indeed, some are considering forcing a special meeting to discuss the future of the GOP leadership in the upper chamber, which since 2007 has been headed by the Kentucky senator.

Some senators are considering invoking this meeting once they all arrive on Capitol Hill next week. The source spoke on condition of anonymity so they could do so freely, adding that nothing has been confirmed yet, but there have been conversations.

Apparently, this group does not want to broach the subject during the routine lunches that the conference holds two or three months a week, in which they usually discuss legislation and the next steps on specific issues.

For a Republican senator who also spoke to POLITICO anonymously, another challenge to the leader would likely end the same way. “If a handful goes down that path, it will be a rerun of the last time,” the anonymous senator said.

The last attempt to overthrow McConnell

McConnell, now 81, was previously challenged by Rick Scott, the Florida senator who was unhappy with the distribution of candidate funding during the 2022 midterm elections. When all the votes were counted, the veteran had received 37 votes, considerably more than his rival’s 10.

Scott’s rivalry with McConnell continued after the challenge. For starters, the current minority leader removed his colleague from the powerful Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, one of the most important on Capitol Hill. The Florida senator learned the news by text message.

Months later, the former governor of Florida took aim at McConnell at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which took place in Maryland between March 1 and 4 of this year. “It’s not just the Democrats in Washington who are destroying our country. You have heard the famous quote: ‘We have met the enemy, and he is us,” he said.

“Unfortunately, some of the leaders of our old Republican establishment have been in Washington way too long and forgotten why they came here. They’ve gotten used to caving in to the Democrats. They do it over and over and over. Instead of the Democrats compromising their liberal principles, they roll over, and compromise our conservative principles.”

Finally, he named McConnell by first and last name and assured that his challenge was the beginning of something, and then loosely quoted Irish mixed martial artist Connor McGregor. “I’d like to apologize to absolutely nobody,” he concluded.