Mitch McConnell: ‘Our Standards’ Of Conditions For Military Aid Shouldn’t Apply To Israel

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that it is “totally unnecessary” for Israel to abide by U.S. standards regarding conditions for military aid ― offering a rare high-level acknowledgment that the United States does not apply the law to Israel as it does to other countries.

Asked about conversations among Democratic senators about putting additional conditions on aid to Israel amid its devastating offensive in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, the Kentucky Republican told reporters: “I think it’s ridiculous.”

Mitch McConnell Says He Is 'Completely Recovered' After Freezing Episodes

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday he has “completely recovered” following troubling incidents this summer when he froze and was unable to speak in front of reporters.

“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered, and ... just fine,” McConnell, 81, told CBS “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. “I’m in good shape, completely recovered, and back on the job.”

The lawmaker sparked serious concerns about this health earlier this year during press conferences in July and August. During the first, McConnell abruptly stopped speaking and was unable to begin again before he was escorted away by aides. A month later, the same thing appeared to happen while he was answering questions about his reelection plans.

Senate fills the void as House GOP burns from within

With the House effectively shut down, the Senate has the upper hand on Washington’s two biggest issues this fall — aiding Ukraine and Israel and keeping the government open.

Even if the House GOP selects a speaker or a caretaker leader to claw out of the current chaos, its Republicans will already be in a weakened state as the White House prepares a massive, potentially $100 billion request for national security aid. Instead, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Senate GOP looks to have the Republican sway over both that foreign money debate and the fight to avoid a shutdown.

Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell Facing Off In Government Shutdown Showdown

WASHINGTON — The top Republicans in the House and Senate don’t agree on how to avert a government shutdown that is looking increasingly likely this weekend.

And if the government shuts down, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made clear who should get the blame: the Republican-led House.

Pentagon-Funded Study Warns Dementia Among U.S. Officials Poses National Security Threat

As the national security workforce ages, dementia impacting U.S. officials poses a threat to national security, according to a first-of-its-kind study by a Pentagon-funded think tank. The report, released this spring, came as several prominent U.S. officials trusted with some of the nation’s most highly classified intelligence experienced public lapses, stoking calls for resignations and debate about Washington’s aging leadership.

Why the coming weeks will test the McConnell-McCarthy relationship

As the House returns next week, the relationship between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell could face its greatest test yet.

For the first few years of President Joe Biden’s administration, the seniormost Republicans in the House and Senate were in lock step on most issues.

They tag-teamed the left’s multitrillion-dollar social spending plan. They worked together to crush plans for a bipartisan commission on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol siege. And they railed against the president’s bungled pullout of Afghanistan. More recently, McConnell even deferred to the younger McCarthy during negotiations over the debt ceiling, backing up the new speaker every step of the way as he demanded spending cuts in return for increasing the nation’s borrowing cap.

McConnell pushes to silence health doubts as Senate returns

Mitch McConnell is moving as fast as he can to get beyond questions about whether his health will hurt his ability to lead Senate Republicans.

Within hours of the Senate’s return Tuesday, the GOP leader’s office released a letter from the Capitol physician with more details clearing him for work after last week’s on-camera freeze, his second this summer. McConnell then delivered a floor speech mostly focused on the Senate’s task ahead in funding the government, and after huddled with his leadership team for a meeting on the fall agenda.

Why Is Nobody Doing Anything About Mitch McConnell?

For the second time in about a month, the heavy gears and winches that drive Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s brain seized up in front of news cameras. While taking questions from reporters on Wednesday in Covington, Ky., and asked about running for reelection in 2026, the top Republican powered down for 30 seconds as if an unseen hand had removed the lithium ion battery from his chassis. Attempts by an aide to reboot him seemed to succeed as he muttered, “OK,” and gave brief answers before retiring from the scene.

McConnell remains ‘perfectly capable,’ South Dakota senator says

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said Sunday that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is “perfectly capable” of continuing his work after freezing for the second time during a press conference last week.

“I spoke with Mitch yesterday afternoon … and he said he was in good shape,” Rounds told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Rounds said McConnell told him that after sustaining a concussion in March, he was warned of possible lightheadedness in the future and to stay aware of it.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says Mitch McConnell Is Not 'Fit For Office'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is not “fit for office” after McConnell on Wednesday appeared to freeze in front of reporters when asked if he would run for reelection in 2026.

“Severe aging health issues and/or mental health incompetence in our nation’s leaders MUST be addressed,” Greene wrote Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Why Mitch McConnell and the Republicans Can’t Fix Health Care

Mitch McConnell’s decision to postpone a vote on his health-care-reform bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, is a political setback (and perhaps only a temporary one) for the Republican Party. But, beyond this week’s drama, the bill and its troubles reflect conservatism’s failure when it comes to thinking about health care.

Even if McConnell somehow manages to revive the bill in the coming weeks and put together the fifty votes that he needs to get it through the Senate, that broader failure will remain a problem for him and his party. If they end up passing this bill or something like it, they will be betting their future on a reform that cannot deliver what Donald Trump promised during the election campaign and what Paul Ryan and his colleagues promised last December: reasonably priced access to health care for every American. Over time, political pressure would mount for the restoration of Obamacare, or even for a public option available to everyone.

Elizabeth Warren Reveals Mitch McConnell Is Just as Big a Jerk Behind Closed Doors

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) guest-starred on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" Tuesday shortly after kicking off her nationwide book tour in New York City. This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class, the 11th book by the U.S. senator, former professor and bankruptcy law expert, is the story of wealth inequality in America since the 2008 financial crisis.

Elizabeth Warren Says Mitch McConnell Won't Even Say Hello To Her

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has apparently been ignoring Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) since moving to silence her on the Senate floor in February, Warren told The Boston Globe.

McConnell cut Warren off in February as she tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King during a speech on the Senate floor, explaining her opposition to Jeff Session’s nomination to be attorney general. McConnell invoked a little-used rule that blocks senators “by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”

The Twin Authoritarians Who Are Endangering American Democracy

Ever since Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, critics worried about his authoritarian tendencies. He’s done much to justify those fears. At his rallies, he whipped crowds into such a frenzy that protesters were beaten. As president, he’s flouted elementary rules about nepotism and conflict of interest; undermined the independence of the judiciary by impugning judges overseeing cases involving him or his administration; obstructed justice by firing James Comey after he refused to pledge loyalty to him; and arbitrarily limited media access by, for instance, replacing daily White House press briefings with off-camera gaggles where recording is banned.

The Most Loathsome Republican: McConnell Does the GOP's Dirty Work While All Eyes Follow Trump

As Senate Republicans make a mockery of Trump cabinet confirmation hearings this week by ramming as many appointees through as quickly as possible to avoid scrutiny, Americans are going to discover there are many shades of darkness in GOP-led Washington.

Trump, needless to say, is not merely the headline grabber-in-chief, as evidenced by his 3:27am tweet Monday smearing Meryl Streep, who had the guts while receiving a Golden Globe lifetime achievement award Sunday to remind viewers that not all U.S. citizens agree with Trump’s boundless bullying.

Mitch McConnell is ignoring the cabinet confirmation procedure he demanded in 2009

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate plans to rush forward this week with confirmation hearings for many of Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet and other key executive positions. Though many of the picks have not yet completed the customarily required ethics clearances and background checks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has shown no willingness to delay.

“They’ve made pretty clear they intend to slow down and resist and that doesn’t provide a lot of incentive or demonstrate good faith to negotiate changes. So I think we’re going to just be plowing ahead,” his deputy, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) told Politico.

The GOP’s new war on women: McConnell’s attempt to silence Elizabeth Warren epitomizes the newly empowered sexism of the right

Perhaps Sen. Mitch McConnell should have skipped his quadrennial all-day post-inauguration nap. Being awake for the Women’s March and witnessing all the rage and energy of millions of feminists might have woken him up to what kind of bee’s nest awaited him on Tuesday night, when he tried to stop one woman, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, from quoting another woman, Coretta Scott King, during the debate over Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination for attorney general.

Mitch McConnell Says Americans Won’t Tolerate Democrats Blocking Supreme Court Nominations

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a warning to Democrats on Wednesday, one day after the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland expired without any Senate action: Don’t consider staging a similar blockade on any of President-elect Donald Trump’s high court nominees.

Mitch McConnell Says He’ll Back Donald Trump As The GOP Nominee

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) affirmed on Wednesday that he will support presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and urged fellow Republicans to do the same.

“I have committed to supporting the nominee chosen by Republican voters, and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee is now on the verge of clinching that nomination,” McConnell said in a statement.

McConnell: No New Supreme Court Justice Until The NRA Approves Of The Nominee

Supreme Court justices are nominated by the president and appointed with the advice and consent of the National Rifle Association, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

McConnell offered this unusual view of the confirmation process during an interview with Fox News Sunday. In response to a question from host Chris Wallace, who asked if Senate Republicans would consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court after the election if Hillary Clinton prevails, McConnell responded that he “can’t imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame duck session, a nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association [and] the National Federation of Independent Businesses.”