Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell
Senate Majority Leader
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Deputy John Cornyn
Preceded by Harry Reid
United States Senator
from Kentucky
Assumed office
January 3, 1985
Serving with Rand Paul
Preceded by Walter Dee Huddleston
Senate Minority Leader
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015
Deputy Trent Lott
Jon Kyl
John Cornyn
Preceded by Harry Reid
Succeeded by Harry Reid
Senate Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Leader Bill Frist
Preceded by Harry Reid
Succeeded by Dick Durbin
Chair of the Senate Rules Committee
In office
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by Chris Dodd
Succeeded by Chris Dodd
In office
January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by John Warner
Succeeded by Chris Dodd
Judge/Executive of Jefferson County
In office
1977–1984
Preceded by Todd Hollenbach III
Succeeded by Bremer Ehrler
Acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs
In office
1975
President Gerald Ford
Preceded by Vincent Rakestraw
Succeeded by Michael Uhlmann
Personal details
Born Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.
(1942-02-20) February 20, 1942
Sheffield, Alabama, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s)
Sherrill Redmon
(m. 1968; div. 1980)

Elaine Chao (m. 1993)
Children 3
Education University of Louisville (BA)
University of Kentucky (JD)
Net worth $22.5 million (estimate)[1]
Signature
Website Senate website
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1967
Unit United States Army Reserve

Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and as Senate Majority Leader. McConnell is the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the Senate and is the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Kentucky in history.

A member of the Republican Party, McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and has been re-elected five times since then. During the 1998 and 2000 election cycles, McConnell was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. McConnell was first elected as Majority Whip in the 108th Congress and was re-elected to the post in 2004. In November 2006, McConnell was elected Senate Minority Leader; he held that post until 2015, when Republicans took control of the Senate and he became Senate Majority Leader. Time named McConnell one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. In June 2018, McConnell became the longest-serving Republican U.S. Senate leader in the history of the United States.

McConnell was known as a pragmatist and moderate Republican early in his political career but veered sharply to the right over time. During his time in the Senate, McConnell gained a reputation as a skilled political strategist and tactician. McConnell led opposition to stricter campaign finance laws, culminating in the Supreme Court ruling that partially overturned the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold).

During the Obama presidency, McConnell engaged in obstruction, working to withhold Republican support for any major presidential initiatives. In October 2010, McConnell said that "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." During Obama's presidency, Senate Republicans made frequent use of the filibuster, which meant that any bill passing through the Senate needed a supermajority (60 votes rather than 50). Senate Republicans also blocked an unprecedented number of Obama's judicial nominations, including Supreme Court justice nominee Merrick Garland whom McConnell refused to hold a hearing on. A number of political scientists and historians have characterized McConnell's obstructionism and "constitutional hardball" as contributors to democratic erosion in the United States.

McConnell endorsed Rand Paul in the 2016 Republican primaries before ultimately supporting then-presumptive nominee Donald Trump. During the 2016 election, after being approached by U.S. intelligence community officials, McConnell refused to give a bipartisan statement with President Obama warning Russia not to interfere in the 2016 election. During the Trump presidency, Senate Republicans broke records on the number of judicial nominees confirmed. Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to fill the Supreme Court vacancy that Garland was slated for; McConnell later described his actions on the Garland nomination as "the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career".

Early life and education

McConnell is of Scots-Irish and English descent, the son of Addison Mitchell McConnell, and his wife, Julia (née Shockley). McConnell was born on February 20, 1942, in Sheffield, Alabama, and raised as a young child in nearby Athens.[2] His original ancestor had emigrated from County Down, Northern Ireland to North Carolina.[3]

As a youth, McConnell overcame polio,[4] which he was struck with at age 2.[5] He received treatment at the Warm Springs Institute in Georgia, which potentially saved him from being disabled for the rest of his life.[6] In 1990, McConnell said that his family "almost went broke" because of costs related to his illness.[7]

When he was eight, McConnell's family moved to Georgia.[8] When he was a teenager, his family moved to Louisville, where he attended duPont Manual High School. He graduated with honors from the University of Louisville with a B.A. in political science in 1964. McConnell was president of the Student Council of the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. He has maintained strong ties to his alma mater and "remains a rabid fan of its sports teams."[9] In 1967, McConnell graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was president of the Student Bar Association.

In March 1967, shortly before graduating from law school, McConnell enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve at Louisville, Kentucky. In August 1967, after five weeks of military training at Fort Knox, he received an honorable discharge for medical reasons (optic neuritis).[10][11]

Early career

McConnell began interning for Senator John Sherman Cooper (R-KY) in 1964, and his time with Cooper inspired him to run for the Senate eventually himself.[12] Later, McConnell was an assistant to Senator Marlow Cook (R-KY) and was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald R. Ford, where he worked alongside future Justice Antonin Scalia.[13] In 1977, McConnell was elected the Jefferson County Judge/Executive, the former top political office in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was re-elected in 1981.[12]

U.S. Senate

Elections

1984

In 1984, McConnell ran for the U.S. Senate against two-term Democratic incumbent Walter Dee Huddleston. The election race was not decided until the last returns came in, and McConnell won by a thin margin—only 3,437 votes out of more than 1.2 million votes cast, just over 0.4%.[14] McConnell was the only Republican Senate challenger to win that year, despite Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the presidential election. Part of McConnell's success came from a series of television campaign spots called "Where's Dee", which featured a group of bloodhounds trying to find Huddleston,[15][16] implying that Huddleston's attendance record in the Senate was less than stellar. His campaign bumper stickers and television ads asked voters to "Switch to Mitch".[17]

1990

In 1990, McConnell faced a tough re-election contest against former Louisville Mayor Harvey I. Sloane, winning by 4.4%.

1996

In 1996, he defeated Steve Beshear by 12.6%, even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the state. In keeping with a tradition of humorous and effective television ads in his campaigns, McConnell's campaign ran television ads that warned voters to not "Get BeSheared" and included images of sheep being sheared.[17]

2002

In 2002, he was re-elected against Lois Combs Weinberg by 29.4%, the largest majority by a statewide Republican candidate in Kentucky history.

2008

In 2008, McConnell faced his closest contest since 1990. He defeated Bruce Lunsford by 6%.[18]

2014

In 2014, McConnell faced Louisville businessman Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.[19] The 60.2% won by McConnell was the lowest voter support for a Kentucky U.S. Senator in a primary by either party since 1938.[20] He faced Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in the general election. Although polls showed the race was very close, ultimately McConnell defeated Grimes by 56.2%–40.7%, resulting in a margin of victory of 15.5 percentage points – one of his largest margins of victory, second only to his 2002 margin.

Leadership

During the 1998 and 2000 election cycles, McConnell was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.[21] Republicans maintained control of the Senate after both elections. He was first elected as Majority Whip in the 108th Congress[22] and unanimously re-elected on November 17, 2004. Senator Bill Frist, the Majority Leader, did not seek re-election in the 2006 elections. In November 2006, after Republicans lost control of the Senate, they elected McConnell to replace Frist as Minority Leader.[23] After Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 Senate elections, McConnell became the Senate Majority Leader.[24] In June 2018, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in the history of the United States.[25] McConnell is the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the Senate[26] and is the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Kentucky in history.[27]

Tenure

Senator Mitch McConnell in 1992

2016 presidential election and Donald Trump

McConnell initially endorsed fellow Kentucky Senator Rand Paul during the 2016 presidential campaign. Following Paul's withdrawal from the race in February 2016, McConnell did not endorse another candidate until May 4, 2016 when he endorsed then-presumptive nominee Donald Trump. "I have committed to supporting the nominee chosen by Republican voters, and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee, is now on the verge of clinching the nomination."[28] However, McConnell disagreed with Trump on multiple subsequent occasions. In May 2016, after Trump suggested that federal judge Gonzalo P. Curiel was biased against Trump because of his Mexican heritage, McConnell responded, "I don't agree with what he (Trump) had to say. This is a man who was born in Indiana. All of us came here from somewhere else." In July 2016, after Trump had criticized the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq, McConnell stated, "Captain Khan was an American hero, and like all Americans, I'm grateful for the sacrifices that selfless young men like Captain Khan and their families have made in the war on terror. All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services." On October 7, 2016, following the Donald Trump Access Hollywood controversy, McConnell stated: "As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."[29]

With regard to the US response to intelligence findings that Russia was responsible for cyberattacks undertaken to influence the American election, after Trump won the election, Senator McConnell expressed "support for investigating American intelligence findings that Moscow intervened."[30] Prior to the election, however, when FBI Director James Comey, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and other officials met with the leadership of both parties to make the case for a bipartisan statement warning Russia that such actions would not be tolerated, "McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics," The Washington Post reported,[31] citing accounts of several unnamed officials.[32][33]

In April 2017, McConnell denied knowing anything about potential wiretapping of Trump by the Obama administration, saying there was an ongoing investigation.[34]

In November 2017, McConnell was opposed to passing legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.[35] In April 2018, less than 24 hours after an FBI raid on Michael Cohen's (President Trump's personal attorney) office, and after Trump had said that "many people" had asked him to fire Mueller, McConnell reiterated that he opposed any legislation to protect Mueller's investigation.[36] Later that month, McConnell thwarted a bipartisan legislative effort to protect Mueller's investigation.[37]

In January 2018, Senators Marco Rubio and Chris Van Hollen introduced a bipartisan bill that would impose new sanctions on Russia in the event the country attempted interfering in another American election. In July, McConnell mentioned the bill as one option on the table for the Senate to respond to President Trump's posture toward the government of Vladimir Putin and asked the Banking and Foreign Relations panels to hold new hearings on the implementation of the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill from the previous year in addition to suggesting potential further steps lawmakers could pursue as part of efforts to counter Russian malfeasance ahead of that year's midterm elections.[38]

In June 2018, McConnell said regarding the Mueller investigation: "they ought to wrap it up. It’s gone on seemingly forever and I don’t know how much more they think they can find out." By that time, the Mueller investigation had been open for just over a year while the average length of 16 special/independent counsel investigations from 1973-2003 was over three years.[39]

In July 2018, McConnell's chief strategist said that Trump's attacks on the intelligence community would benefit Republicans in the upcoming 2018 midterm election, both by energizing the Republican base and by drowning out Democrats' messaging on policy.[40]

Campaign finance

McConnell led opposition to stricter campaign finance regulations, with the Lexington Herald Leader describing it as McConnell's "pet issue."[41] argued that campaign finance regulations reduce participation in political campaigns and protect incumbents from competition.[42] He spearheaded the movement against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (known since 1995 as the "McCain–Feingold bill" and from 1989 to 1994 as the "Boren–Mitchell bill"), calling it "neither fair, nor balanced, nor constitutional."[43] His opposition to the bill culminated in the 2003 Supreme Court case McConnell v. Federal Election Commission and the 2009 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. McConnell has been an advocate for free speech at least as far back as the early 1970s when he was teaching night courses at the University of Louisville. "No issue has shaped his career more than the intersection of campaign financing and free speech," political reporter Robert Costa wrote in 2012.[44] In a recording of a 2014 fundraiser McConnell expressed his disapproval of the McCain-Feingold law, saying, "The worst day of my political life was when President George W. Bush signed McCain-Feingold into law in the early part of his first Administration."[45]

On January 2, 2013, the Public Campaign Action Fund, a liberal nonprofit group that backs stronger campaign finance regulation, released a report highlighting eight instances from McConnell's political career in which a vote or a blocked vote (filibuster), coincided with an influx of campaign contributions to McConnell's campaign.[46][47]

Economy

McConnell with President Barack Obama, August 2010

In 2010, McConnell requested earmarks for the defense contractor BAE Systems while the company was under investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged bribery of foreign officials.[48][49]

In June 2011, McConnell introduced a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment. The amendment would require two-thirds votes in Congress to increase taxes or for federal spending to exceed the current year's tax receipts or 18% of the prior year's GDP. The amendment specifies situations when these requirements would be waived.[50][51]

During the Great Recession, as Congress and the Obama administration negotiated reforms of the banking system, McConnell played an important role in preventing the addition of a provision requiring banks to prefund a reserve intended to be used to rescue insolvent banks in the future. When there appeared to be bipartisan and majority support for such a bank-funded reserve, McConnell criticized the provision, referred to it as a "bailout fund" and turned "opposition to it a litmus test for Senate Republicans", according to one study.[52] According to the study, "McConnell’s attack, along with his insistence that opposition would be a matter of party principle, undermined the fragile coalition supporting the prefunded reserve, and the White House—fearing that advocating a bank levy as part of the president’s broader reform would enable opponents tokill the whole bill—shelved the idea."[52]

After two intercessions to get federal grants for Alltech, whose president T. Pearse Lyons made subsequent campaign contributions to McConnell, to build a plant in Kentucky for producing ethanol from algae, corncobs, and switchgrass, McConnell criticized President Obama in 2012 for twice mentioning biofuel production from algae in a speech touting his "all-of-the-above" energy policy.[53][54]

In 2014, McConnell voted to help break Ted Cruz's filibuster attempt against a debt limit increase and then against the bill itself.[55] In 2014, McConnell opposed the Paycheck Fairness Act (a bill that "punishes employers for retaliating against workers who share wage information, puts the justification burden on employers as to why someone is paid less and allows workers to sue for punitive damages of wage discrimination") because it would "line the pockets of trial lawyers", not help women.[56]

In July 2014, McConnell expressed opposition to a U.S. Senate bill that would limit the practice of corporate inversion by U.S. corporations seeking to limit U.S. tax liability.[57]

Environment

McConnell expressed skepticism that climate change is a problem, telling the Cincinnati Enquirer editorial board in 2014, "I'm not a scientist, I am interested in protecting Kentucky's economy, I'm interested in having low cost electricity."[58][59][60] McConnell was the sponsor of the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008, which would have allowed states to engage in increased offshore and domestic oil exploration.[61] In 2015, McConnell encouraged state governors not to comply with the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, which was aimed at tackling climate change.[62][63]

McConnell was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[64] to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McConnell has received over $1.5 million from the oil and gas industry since 2012.[65]

Flag Desecration Amendment

McConnell opposed the Flag Desecration Amendment to the Constitution in 2000. McConnell offered an amendment to the measure that would have made flag desecration illegal as a statutory crime, not by amending the Constitution.[66]

Foreign policy

In 1985, McConnell backed anti-apartheid legislation with Chris Dodd.[67] McConnell went on to engineer new IMF funding to "faithfully protect aid to Egypt and Israel," and "promote free elections and better treatment of Muslim refugees" in Myanmar, Cambodia and Macedonia. According to a March 2014 article in Politico, "McConnell was a 'go-to guy' for presidents of both parties seeking foreign aid," but he has lost some of his idealism and has evolved to be more wary of foreign assistance.[68]

McConnell stands in front and directly to the right of President Obama as he signs tax cuts and unemployment insurance legislation on December 17, 2010.

In August 2007, McConnell introduced the Protect America Act of 2007, which allowed the National Security Agency to monitor telephone and electronic communications of suspected terrorists outside the United States without obtaining a warrant.[69] McConnell was the only party leader in Congress to oppose the resolution that would authorize military strikes against Syria in September 2013, citing a lack of national security risk.[70]

On March 27, 2014, McConnell introduced the United States International Programming to Ukraine and Neighboring Regions bill, which would provide additional funding and instructions to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in response to the 2014 Crimea crisis.[71][72]

In September 2016, the Senate voted 71 to 27 against the Chris Murphy–Rand Paul resolution to block the $1.15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.[73] The Saudi Arabian-led coalition in Yemen has been accused of war crimes.[73] Following the vote, McConnell said: "I think it's important to the United States to maintain as good a relationship with Saudi Arabia as possible."[74]

Also in September 2016, both the Senate and the House of Representatives overrode President Obama's veto to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) into law. Despite McConnell voting to override the President, McConnell would criticize JASTA within a day of the bill's passing, saying that it might have "unintended ramifications". McConnell appeared to blame the White House regarding this as he quoted that there was "failure to communicate early about the potential consequences" of JASTA, and said he told Obama that JASTA "was an example of an issue that we should have talked about much earlier".[75][76] In vetoing the bill, Obama had provided three reasons for objecting to JASTA: that the courts would be less effective than "national security and foreign policy professionals" in responding to a foreign government supporting terrorism, that it would upset "longstanding international principles regarding sovereign immunity", and that it would complicate international relations.[77][78]

Fundraising

McConnell at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland

From 2003 to 2008, the list of McConnell's top 20 donors included five financial/investment firms: UBS, FMR Corporation (Fidelity Investments), Citigroup, Bank of New York, and Merrill Lynch.[79]

In April 2010, while Congress was considering financial reform legislation, a reporter asked McConnell if he was "doing the bidding of the large banks." McConnell has received more money in donations from the "Finance, Insurance and Real Estate" sector than any other sector according to the Center for Responsive Politics.[79][80] McConnell responded "I'd say that that's inaccurate. You could talk to the community bankers in Kentucky." The Democratic Party's plan for financial reform is actually a way to institute "endless taxpayer funded bailouts for big Wall Street banks", said McConnell. He expressed concern that the proposed $50 billion, bank-funded fund that would be used to liquidate financial firms that could collapse "would of course immediately signal to everyone that the government is ready to bail out large banks".[79][80] In McConnell's home state of Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader ran an editorial saying: "We have read that the Republicans have a plan for financial reform, but McConnell isn't talking up any solutions, just trashing the other side's ideas with no respect for the truth."[81] According to one tally, McConnell's largest donor from the period from January 1, 2009, to September 30, 2015, was Bob McNair, contributing $1,502,500.[82]

Guns

On the weekend of January 19–21, 2013, the McConnell for Senate campaign emailed and robo-called gun-rights supporters telling them that "President Obama and his team are doing everything in their power to restrict your constitutional right to keep and bear arms." McConnell also said, "I'm doing everything in my power to protect your 2nd Amendment rights."[83] On April 17, 2013, McConnell voted against expanding background checks for gun purchases.[84]

In June 2016, after the Orlando nightclub shooting occurred, then the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in American history, four partisan gun measures came up for vote in the Senate and were all rejected. McConnell opined that Democrats were using the shooting as a political talking point while Republicans John Cornyn and Chuck Grassley were "pursuing real solutions that can help keep Americans safer from the threat of terrorism."[85]

In October 2017, following the Las Vegas shooting, McConnell told reporters that the investigation into the incident "has not even been completed, and I think it's premature to be discussing legislative solutions if there are any." He stated that he believed it "particularly inappropriate to politicize an event like this" and the issue of tax reform should remain the priority while the investigation was ongoing.[86]

Health policy

McConnell led efforts against President Barack Obama's health care reform, ensuring that no Republican Senator supported Obama's 2009-2010 health care reform legislation.[87][88] McConnell explained the reasoning behind withholding Republican support as, "It was absolutely critical that everybody be together because if the proponents of the bill were able to say it was bipartisan, it tended to convey to the public that this is O.K., they must have figured it out."[87][89][88] McConnell voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called ObamaCare or the Affordable Care Act) in December 2009,[90] and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[91] In 2014, McConnell repeated his call for the full repeal of Obamacare and said that Kentucky should be allowed to keep the state's health insurance exchange website, Kynect, or set up a similar system.[92] McConnell is part of the group of 13 Senators drafting the Senate version of the AHCA behind closed doors.[93][94][95][96] The Senator refused over 15 patient advocacy organization's requests to meet with his congressional staff to discuss the legislation. This included groups like the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, American Lung Association. and the American Diabetes Association.[97]

McConnell received the Kentucky Life Science Champion Awards for his work in promoting innovation in the life science sector.[98]

In 2015, both houses of Congress passed a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[99] It was vetoed by President Obama in January 2016.[100]

After President Trump took office in January 2017, Senate Republicans, under McConnell's leadership, began to work on a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. They faced opposition from both Democrats and moderate Republicans, who claimed that the bill would leave too many people uninsured, and more conservative Republicans, who protested that the bill kept too many of the ACA's regulation and spending increases, and was thus not a full repeal. Numerous attempts at repeal failed. On June 27, after a meeting with President Trump at the White House, McConnell signaled improvements for the repeal and replacement: "We're not quite there. But I think we've got a really good chance of getting there. It'll just take us a little bit longer."[101] During a Rotary Club lunch on July 6, McConnell said, "If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur."[102]

Immigration

In 2013, a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight worked on immigration reform, introducing legislation that would establish a 13-year pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, with several security benchmarks that have to be met before they can obtain a green card, and require a mandatory workplace verification system for employers. McConnell opposed the bill on the grounds of it not including sufficient border-security measures that would future illegal immigration.[103]

In February 2018, McConnell stated his support for an immigration proposal that aligned with President Trump's framework, reasoning the bill which he said had "the best chance" of being signed into law.[104] By this point, he considered the issue to have run its course over three days of floor debate.[105]

In 2015, McConnell rebuked then-candidate Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the United States.[106] In June 2018, minutes after the Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration's travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries in a 5-4 decision along ideological lines, McConnell tweeted a gloating picture of him shaking hands with Neil Gorsuch.[107][108] Gorsuch was nominated to fill a vacant Supreme Court by President Trump after McConnell and Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland, President Obama's nomination to the court, for almost a year.[107]

Iran

In August 2015, McConnell charged President Obama with treating his rallying for support of the Iran nuclear deal "like a political campaign" and stated his preference for senators spending time in their seats while debating the deal: "Demonize your opponents, gin up the base, get Democrats all angry and, you know, rally around the president. To me, it's a different kind of issue."[109] In a September interview, McConnell stated that the battle over the Iran nuclear deal possibly would have to wait until after the Obama administration was over while vowing to tee another vote on the matter to show bipartisan opposition to the matter. He said the Iran nuclear deal would be a defining issue in the following presidential election in the event that the Republicans still did not have enough votes to overcome a filibuster from Democrats and called the deal "an agreement between Barack Obama and the Iranian regime."[110]

In January 2016, as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee weighed consideration of sanctions on North Korea after its test of a nuclear device, McConnell called Iran "an obvious rogue regime with which we have this outrageous deal that they don’t intend to comply with" and confirmed the intent of the Senate to look into Iran.[111]

In May 2018, after President Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, McConnell said the deal was "a flawed deal and we can do better" and stated congressional optimism to seeing what Trump would propose in its place.[112]

Iraq

In October 2002, McConnell voted for the Iraq Resolution, which authorized military action against Iraq.[113] McConnell supported the Iraq War troop surge of 2007.[114] In 2010, McConnell "accused the White House of being more concerned about a messaging strategy than prosecuting a war against terrorism."[115]

In 2006, McConnell publicly criticized Senate Democrats for urging that troops be brought back from Iraq.[116] According to Bush's Decision Points memoir, however, McConnell was privately urging the then President to "bring some troops home from Iraq" to lessen the political risks. McConnell's hometown paper, the Louisville Courier-Journal, in an editorial titled "McConnell's True Colors", criticized McConnell for his actions and asked him to "explain why the fortunes of the Republican Party are of greater importance than the safety of the United States."[117]

Regarding the failure of the Iraqi government to make reforms, McConnell said the following on Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: "The Iraqi government is a huge disappointment. Republicans overwhelmingly feel disappointed about the Iraqi government. I read just this week that a significant number of the Iraqi parliament want to vote to ask us to leave. I want to assure you, Wolf, if they vote to ask us to leave, we'll be glad to comply with their request."[118]

On April 21, 2009, McConnell delivered a speech to the Senate criticizing President Obama's plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, and questioned the additional 81 million dollar White House request for funds to transfer prisoners to the United States.[119][120]

In July 2011, following the acquittal of Casey Anthony in the murder of her daughter Caylee, McConnell stated the trial showed "how difficult is to get a conviction in a U.S. court" and advocated for foreign-born terrorists to be sent to Guantanamo Bay.[121]

Judicial nominees

According to the New York Times, "From the moment Obama entered the White House, McConnell led Senate Republicans in a disciplined, sustained, at times underhanded campaign to deny the Democratic president the opportunity to appoint federal judges."[122]

Garland with Barack Obama at his Supreme Court nomination, 2016

On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died.[123] Later that day, McConnell issued a statement indicating that the U.S. Senate would not consider any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Barack Obama to fill Justice Scalia’s vacated seat.[124] “‘The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,’” McConnell said.[124] On March 16, 2016, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court.[125] Under McConnell’s leadership, Senate Republicans refused to take any action on the Garland nomination.[126] Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.[127] In January 2017, Republican President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the Court vacancy;[128] Gorsuch's nomination was confirmed on April 7, 2017.[129]

In an August 2016 speech in Kentucky, McConnell made reference to the Garland nomination; he said, "One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.'"[130][131][132] In April 2018, McConnell said the decision not to act upon the Garland nomination was "the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career".[133] Later that year, McConnell said that if a Supreme Court vacancy would happen during Trump's 2020 re-election year, he would not follow the precedent that he set in 2016 and let the winner of the presidential election nominate a justice.[134]

On July 18, 2018, with Andy Oldham's Senate confirmation, Senate Republicans broke a record for largest number of appeals court judiciary confirmations "during a president's first two years". Oldham became the 23rd judge to be confirmed in said period.[135] Addressing the issue, McConnell stated that considering "the things that we've been able to do with this Republican government the last year and a half", the most "long lasting, positive impact" they would have on the country would be the judiciary. The number of circuit court judges "confirmed during a president's first year" was broken in 2017, while the previous two-year record took place under President George H.W. Bush, and included 22 nominations.[136]

Reputation and transformation

In his early years as a politician in Kentucky McConnell was known as a pragmatist and a moderate Republican.[12][137] Over time, he veered sharply to the right.[12][137] According to ProPublica reporter Alex MacGillis's biography of McConnell, McConnell transformed "from a moderate Republican who supported abortion rights and public employee unions to the embodiment of partisan obstructionism and conservative orthodoxy on Capitol Hill."[137] MacGillis argues that McConnell's transformation was "driven less by a shift in ideological conviction than by a desire to win elections and stay in power at all costs."[137]

McConnell has been widely described as having engaged in obstructionism during Obama's presidency.[138][89][139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146][147][148][149][150][151] In October 2010, McConnell said that "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." Asked whether this meant "endless, or at least frequent, confrontation with the president," McConnell clarified that "if [Obama is] willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues, it's not inappropriate for us to do business with him."[152] During Obama's presidency, minority obstruction reached all-time highs, as McConnell insisted that any bill passing through the Senate needed a supermajority (60 votes rather than 50).[153] McConnell justified the obstructionism by falsely claiming that the 60-vote threshold was the historical norm in the Senate.[153] Yale University political scientist Jacob Hacker and University of California, Berkeley political scientist Paul Pierson describe McConnell as the major figure (along with Newt Gingrich) in transforming the Republican Party into a "party geared increasingly not to governing but to making governance impossible".[145] They write, "Facing off against Obama, he worked to deny even minimal Republican support for major presidential initiatives—initiatives that were, as a rule, in keeping with the moderate model of decades past, and often with moderate Republican stances of a few years past."[145] Republicans threatened repeatedly to force the United States to default on its debt, with McConnell saying that he learned from the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis that "it’s a hostage that’s worth ransoming."[154]

Political scientists have referred to McConnell's use of the filibuster as "constitutional hardball", referring to the misuse of procedural tools in a way that undermines democracy.[146][145][154] By 2013, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster for all presidential nominations except the Supreme Court, nearly half of all invocations to cloture (to end a filibuster) in the history of the Senate had occurred during Obama's presidency.[155] McConnell delayed and obstructed health care reform and banking reform, which were the two landmark pieces of legislation that Democrats sought to get passed early in Obama's tenure.[151][156] By delaying Democratic priority legislation, McConnell stymied the output of Congress. Political scientists Eric Schickler and Gregory J. Wawro write, "by slowing action even on measures supported by many Republicans, McConnell capitalized on the scarcity of floor time, forcing Democratic leaders into difficult trade-offs concerning which measures were worth pursuing. That is, given that Democrats had just two years with sizeable majorities to enact as much of their agenda as possible, slowing the Senate’s ability to process even routine measures limited the sheer volume of liberal bills that could be adopted."[156]

The New York Times noted early during Obama's administration that "on the major issues — not just health care, but financial regulation and the economic stimulus package, among others — Mr. McConnell has held Republican defections to somewhere between minimal and nonexistent, allowing him to slow the Democratic agenda if not defeat aspects of it."[89] McConnell's refusal to allow Obama to seat a Supreme Court justice was described by political scientists and legal scholars as "unprecedented",[157] a "culmination of this confrontational style,"[140] a "blatant abuse of constitutional norms,"[158] and a "classic example of constitutional hardball."[154] As part of his obstruction strategy and as the leading Republican Senator, McConnell confronted and pressured other Republican Senators who cared about policy substance and were willing to negotiate with Democrats and the Obama administration.[88] According to Purdue University political scientist Bert A. Rockman, "pure party line voting has been evident now for some time... but rarely has the tactic of “oppositionism” been so boldly stated as McConnell did."[141] In 2012, McConnell proposed a measure allowing President Obama to raise the debt ceiling, hoping that some Democratic Senators would oppose the measure, thus demonstrating disunity among Democrats. However, all Democratic Senators supported the proposal, which led McConnell to filibuster his own proposal.[159] Democrats chided McConnell for this, saying it demonstrated an extreme degree of obstructionism.[160]

The 2016 book Health Care Reform and American Politics by political scientists Lawrence Jacobs and Theda Skocpol describe McConnell's rationale as follows, "any compromises would undermine the Republican Party’s effort to make big gains in 2010 and 2012."[88] According to University of Texas legal scholar Sanford Levinson, McConnell learned that obstruction and Republican unity was the optimal way to ensure Republican gains in upcoming elections after he observed how Democratic cooperation with the Bush administration on No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D helped Bush's 2004 re-election.[161] Levinson noted, "McConnell altogether rationally... concluded that Republicans have nothing to gain, as a political party, from collaborating in anything that the president could then claim as an achievement." Hacker and Pierson describe the rationale behind McConnell's filibusters as follows,[145]

Filibusters left no fingerprints. When voters heard that legislation had been “defeated,” journalists rarely highlighted that this defeat meant a minority had blocked a majority. Not only did this strategy produce an atmosphere of gridlock and dysfunction; it also chewed up the Senate calendar, restricting the range of issues on which Democrats could progress. McConnell knew proposals lost support the longer they were out there, subject to attack. He knew constant delay would drive down the approval ratings of Democrats... Like Gingrich, McConnell had found a serious flaw in the code of American democracy: Our distinctive political system gives an antigovernment party with a willingness to cripple governance an enormous edge. With the strategic guidance of these two congressional leaders, Republicans launched a self-reinforcing antistatist cycle. First they made government less functional. Then they highlighted that dysfunction to build political support.

However, according to University of California, Los Angeles political scientist Barbara Sinclair, McConnell had manage a balancing act where he "need[ed] to protect his party's reputation so he [did] not want to chance its being seen as responsible for a complete breakdown."[162] A number of political scientists and historians have characterized McConnell's obstructionism and constitutional hardball as contributors to democratic erosion in the United States.[145][158][146][155] University of North Carolina historian Christopher R. Browning wrote,[163]

If the US has someone whom historians will look back on as the gravedigger of American democracy, it is Mitch McConnell. He stoked the hyperpolarization of American politics to make the Obama presidency as dysfunctional and paralyzed as he possibly could. As with parliamentary gridlock in Weimar, congressional gridlock in the US has diminished respect for democratic norms, allowing McConnell to trample them even more. Nowhere is this vicious circle clearer than in the obliteration of traditional precedents concerning judicial appointments. Systematic obstruction of nominations in Obama’s first term provoked Democrats to scrap the filibuster for all but Supreme Court nominations. Then McConnell’s unprecedented blocking of the Merrick Garland nomination required him in turn to scrap the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations in order to complete the “steal” of Antonin Scalia’s seat and confirm Neil Gorsuch.

Dartmouth political scientist Russell Muirhead characterized McConnell's obstructionism as a corrosive form of partisanship,[164]

When the number one goal is electoral victory (or, in this case, another candidate’s defeat), base power seeking obscures the larger purposes that make seeking power something respectable. It was not necessarily wrong or unreasonable of McConnell to hope that a Republican would defeat Obama. It was wrong to cast this as the number one goal of the party, prior to everything else— debt reduction, tax policy, foreign relations, and the other issues that make the party something ordinary citizens might have a reason to care about. When low partisanship displaces anything higher... causes, principles, convictions lose their force and their allure, and become just the veil that makes power-seeking behavior presentable.

McConnell has gained a reputation as a skilled political strategist and tactician.[165][166][167] However, this reputation dimmed after Republicans failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2017 during consolidated Republican control of government.[168]

In 2015, Time listed McConnell as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[169]

With a 49% disapproval rate in 2016, McConnell had the highest disapproval rating of all senators.[170] McConnell has repeatedly been found to have the lowest home state approval rating of any sitting senator.[171][172]

Committee assignments

Electoral history

Elections are shown with a map depicting county-by-county information. McConnell is shown in red and Democratic opponents shown in blue.

Year % McConnell Opponent(s) Party affiliation % of vote County-by-county map
1984 49.9% Walter Huddleston (incumbent)

Dave Welters

 Democratic

Socialist Workers

 49.5%
1990 52.2% Harvey I. Sloane Democratic 47.8%
1996 55.5% Steve Beshear

Dennis Lacy

Patricia Jo Metten

Mac Elroy

 Democratic

Libertarian

Natural Law

U.S. Taxpayers

 42.8%
2002 64.7% Lois Combs Weinberg Democratic 35.3%
2008 53.0% Bruce Lunsford Democratic 47.0%
2014 56.2% Alison Lundergan Grimes

David Patterson

 Democratic

Libertarian

 40.7%
U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Kentucky, 1984
Party Candidate Votes % +%
Republican Mitch McConnell 39,465 79.2%
Republican Roger Harker 3,798 7.6%
Republican Tommy Klein 3,352 6.7%
Republican Thurman Jerome Hamlin 3,202 6.4%
U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Kentucky, 1990
Party Candidate Votes % +%
Republican Mitch McConnell (inc.) 64,063 88.5%
Republican Tommy Klein 8,310 11.5%
U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Kentucky, 1996
Party Candidate Votes % +%
Republican Mitch McConnell (inc.) 88,620 88.6%
Republican Tommy Klein 11,410 11.4%
U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Kentucky, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % +%
Republican Mitch McConnell (inc.) 168,127 86.1%
Republican Daniel Essek 27,170 13.9%
U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Kentucky, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % +%
Republican Mitch McConnell (inc.) 213,753 60.2%
Republican Matt Bevin 125,787 35.4%
Republican Shawna Sterling 7,214 2.0%
Republican Chris Payne 5,338 1.5%
Republican Brad Copas 3,024 0.9%

Personal life

McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, was nominated by President Trump to serve as Secretary of Transportation

McConnell is a Southern Baptist.[173] He was married to his first wife, Sherrill Redmon, from 1968 to 1980, and had three children.[174] Following their divorce, she became a feminist scholar at Smith College and director of the Sophia Smith Collection.[175][176] His second wife, whom he married in 1993, is Elaine Chao, the former Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush.[177] On November 29, 2016, incoming President Donald Trump nominated Chao to serve as the Secretary of Transportation. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 2017, in a 93–6 vote.[177] McConnell himself voted "present" during the confirmation roll call.[178]

McConnell is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[179]

In 1997, he founded the James Madison Center for Free Speech, a Washington, D.C.–based legal defense organization.[180][181] McConnell was inducted as a member of the Sons of the American Revolution on March 1, 2013.[182]

In 2010, the OpenSecrets website ranked McConnell one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. Senate, based on net household worth.[183] His personal wealth was increased after receiving a 2008 personal gift to him and his wife, given by his father-in-law James S. C. Chao after the death of McConnell's mother-in-law, that ranged between $5 and $25 million.[184][185]

McConnell appears in the title sequence, and as an off-screen character, in season 1 of Alpha House.[186]

Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart repeatedly mocked McConnell for his apparent resemblance to a turtle or tortoise and often imitated him with the voice of the turtle from Tortoise Wins by a Hare.[187]

References

  1. ↑ Kessler, Glenn (May 22, 2014). "How did Mitch McConnell's Net Worth Soar?". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Fact of the Week,". The Tuscaloosa News. July 16, 2000. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ Athens native Sen. Mitch McConnell looking forward to busy opening - enewscourier. “McConnell said that his original American ancestor emigrated from County Down, Ireland, to North Carolina”.
  4. ↑ "Addison Mitchell 'Mitch' McConnell". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ Phillips, Kristine (June 27, 2017). "No, the government did not pay for Mitch McConnell's polio care. Charity did". Washington Post. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Mitch McConnell on Trump and divisiveness in politics". CBS News. May 29, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Hicks, Jesse (June 26, 2017). "In 1990, Mitch McConnell Supported Affordable Healthcare for All". vice.com. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Two Senators receive keys to the city of Sheffield". Times Daily. News.google.com. March 13, 2001. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ Kornacki, Steve (October 27, 2011). "Why all of West Virginia now hates Mitch McConnell". Salon.com.
  10. ↑ Cheves, John (October 22, 2008). "McConnell received honorable discharge from military". Bluegrass Politics. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ Weiser, Carl (September 23, 2002). "Military service rare on delegation". Cincinnati Inquirer. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Martin, Jonathan (August 27, 2014). "Mitch McConnell Is Headed Down the Stretch". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary" (PDF). loc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  14. ↑ Mark R. Chellgren (November 7, 1984). "Dee upset by McConnell in close race". Williamson Daily News. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  15. ↑ "McConnell Attacks Huddleston – Part 1 video". Youtube.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  16. ↑ "McConnell Attacks Huddleston – Part 2 video". Youtube.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Mitch McConnell Likes The Corny Wordplay With His Political Opponents' Last Names". The Huffington Post. July 11, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  18. ↑ "National Journal Almanac 2008". Nationaljournal.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  19. ↑ Killough, Ashley (July 24, 2013). "Conservative challenger takes on top Senate Republican". CNN.
  20. ↑ Ostermeier, Eric (May 20, 2014). "McConnell Records Weakest Kentucky US Senate Incumbent Primary Victory in 75+ Years". Smart Politics.
  21. ↑ "McConnell Shows Senate Staying Power Despite Unpopularity".
  22. ↑ "Mitch McConnell becomes longest-serving Republican leader in history of Senate".
  23. ↑ "McConnell Is Senate's New Top Republican".
  24. ↑ "McConnell takes the reins as Senate majority leader".
  25. ↑ CNN, Ted Barrett,. "Mitch McConnell makes Senate history".
  26. ↑ "Biography – About – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell". Mcconnell.senate.gov. January 3, 1985. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  27. ↑ "McConnell becomes longest-serving senator from Kentucky". LaRue County (Kentucky) Herald Tribune. January 14, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  28. ↑ "McConnell 'committed to supporting' Trump".
  29. ↑ Parlapiano, Larry Buchanan, Alicia; Yourish, Karen (October 8, 2016). "Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Reject Donald Trump's Words, Over and Over, but Not His Candidacy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  30. ↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (December 12, 2016). "Senate and House Leaders Call for Inquiry of Russian Hacking in Election". The New York Times.
  31. ↑ Entous, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen; Miller, Greg (December 9, 2016). "Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House". The Washington Post.
  32. ↑ "The Betsy DeVos confirmation vote shows that Mitch McConnell knows exactly what he's doing". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  33. ↑ "How Senators Voted on Betsy DeVos". The New York Times. February 7, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  34. ↑ Koenig, Kailani (April 2, 2017). "McConnell Says He's Seen 'No' Evidence of Trump Surveillance". NBC News.
  35. ↑ "McConnell: No need to pass bills to protect Mueller". POLITICO. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  36. ↑ Swanson, Ian (April 10, 2018). "McConnell: Legislation to protect Mueller not needed". TheHill. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  37. ↑ "As GOP balks, McConnell shuts down bill to protect Mueller". AP News. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Russia sanctions bill gains bipartisan traction in Senate". Politico. July 20, 2018.
  39. ↑ Chait, Jonathan. "Mitch McConnell Turns Against Robert Mueller". New York Post. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Now the party of Trump, GOP's midterm pitch is protecting him". mcclatchydc. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Senator's pet issue: money and the power it buys". kentucky. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  42. ↑ Roth, Zachary; Schecter, Cliff (October 2006). "Meet the New Boss: Quietly, Senate Republicans have already chosen Mitch McConnell as their next leader—because Congress just isn't partisan enough". Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  43. ↑ McConnnell, Mitch (May 3, 2001). "Speech to the House Appropriations Committee on campaign finance reform". Archived from the original on September 7, 2008.
  44. ↑ Robert Costa (June 19, 2012). "Mitch McConnell and Free Speech". Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  45. ↑ Lauren Windsor (August 27, 2014). Caught on Tape: What Mitch McConnell Complained About to a Roomful of Billionaires (Exclusive). The Nation. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  46. ↑ Jaffe, Alexandra. "Report links McConnell campaign donations to legislative work", The Hill, Washington DC, January 3, 2013. Retrieved on February 1, 2013.
  47. ↑ Walters, Kurt. "Cashing In On Obstruction: How Mitch McConnell's Abuse of the Filibuster Benefits His Big Money Donors", Public Campaign Action Fund Blog, Washington, D.C., January 2, 2013. Retrieved on February 1, 2013.
  48. ↑ Conason, Joe (November 16, 2010). "Why Mitch McConnell is worse than Charles Rangel". Salon. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  49. ↑ MacGillis, Alec (December 23, 2014). The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell. Simon & Schuster. p. 62.
  50. ↑ "S.J. Res. 23 (112th)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  51. ↑ Ryan, Josiah (June 29, 2011). "McConnell calls balanced-budget amendment to floor". The Hill. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  52. 1 2 WEATHERFORD, M. STEPHEN (February 23, 2012). "The Wages of Competence: Obama, the Economy, and the 2010 Midterm Elections". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 42 (1): 8–39. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5705.2012.03939.x. ISSN 0360-4918.
  53. ↑ Gerth, Joseph (February 13, 2014). "McConnell sought grant but mocked Obama biofuel plan". usatoday.com. The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  54. ↑ Benen, Steve (February 14, 2014). "Mitch McConnell's algae problem". msnbc.com. NBCUniversal Media LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  55. ↑ Fischer, Sara (February 15, 2014). "Mitch McConnell on allowing debt-ceiling vote: "I had to do what's best for the country"". CNN. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  56. ↑ Ramsey Cox; Alexander Bolton (April 9, 2014). "Senate GOP blocks paycheck bill". The Hill. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  57. ↑ Ohlemacher, Stephen (July 23, 2014). "Senate Advances Bill To End Tax Breaks For Companies That Outsource". Huffington Post. AP. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  58. ↑ Wartman, Scott (October 3, 2015). "McConnell talks Brent Spence, heroin, Ebola". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  59. ↑ Gerth, Joseph (October 3, 2014). "McConnell on climate change: 'Not a scientist'". Courier-Journal. Louisville. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  60. ↑ Davenport, Coral (October 30, 2014). "Why Republicans Keep Telling Everyone They're Not Scientists". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  61. ↑ "Senators support legislation addressing gas prices in U.S." Cedartown Standard. July 1, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  62. ↑ Bulman-Pozen, Jessica; Metzger, Gillian E. (May 21, 2016). "The President and the States: Patterns of Contestation and Collaboration under Obama". Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 46 (3): 308–336. doi:10.1093/publius/pjw008. ISSN 0048-5950.
  63. ↑ "Republican Governors Signal Their Intent to Thwart Obama's Climate Rules". Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  64. ↑ Inhofe, James. "Senator". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  65. ↑ "The Republicans who urged Trump to pull out of Paris deal are big oil darlings". The Guardian. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  66. ↑ Bash, Dana (March 29, 2000). "Flag desecration amendment fails in Senate". CNN. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013.
  67. ↑ Atlas, Terry (June 5, 1985). "Senators Act To Pinch South Africa's Economy". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  68. ↑ Rogers, David (March 26, 2014). "Mitch McConnell's foreign policy evolution". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  69. ↑ Farrier, Jasmine (September 1, 2010). Congressional Ambivalence: The Political Burdens of Constitutional Authority. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-3969-4.
  70. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (September 10, 2013). "McConnell only party leader in Congress to oppose Syria resolution". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  71. ↑ "S. 2183 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  72. ↑ Cox, Ramsey (March 27, 2014). "Senate passes bill to fund Ukraine broadcasting". The Hill.
  73. 1 2 "Senate rejects bill blocking U.S.-Saudi arms deal; rights groups applaud "growing dissent" on Yemen war crimes". Salon. September 21, 2016.
  74. ↑ "US Senate refuses to block Saudi Arabia arms sale". Deutsche Welle. September 29, 2016.
  75. ↑ Taylor, Andrew. "White House lashes out at Congress after 9/11 bill vote". Associated Press. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  76. ↑ Demirjian, Karoun; Nakamura, David. "White House accuses Congress of 'buyer's remorse' on 9/11 bill". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  77. ↑ Graham, David. "Why Obama Vetoed the 9/11 Lawsuit Bill". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  78. ↑ Ware, Doug G. (September 29, 2016). "Lawmakers realize potential trouble with new 9/11 law as Saudis rethink U.S. alliance". UPI. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  79. 1 2 3 "Mitch McConnell: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary –Career". Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  80. 1 2 I'm Not Doing The bidding of Large Banks. CBS News, April 15, 2010.
  81. ↑ ""McConnell to Big Banks' Rescue"". Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2010. . Lexington Herald-Leader. April 15, 2010.
  82. ↑ Loftsu, Tom (October 28, 2015). "Updated: McConnell's Biggest Donors". Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  83. ↑ Morrison, Curtis. "Audio from Mitch McConnell robocall: 'I'm doing everything in my power to protect your 2nd amendment rights'". insiderlouisville.com. Louisville. January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  84. ↑ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 1st Session". Legislation & Records. United States Senate. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  85. ↑ Slack, Donovan (June 20, 2016). "Senate blocks gun measures offered in wake of Orlando shooting". USA Today.
  86. ↑ "McConnell: 'Premature' to discuss gun control legislation". The Hill. October 3, 2017.
  87. 1 2 Martin, Jane Mansbridge and Cathie Jo (2015). "Political Negotiation". Brookings. pp. 101–102. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  88. 1 2 3 4 Jacobs, Lawrence; Skocpol, Theda (February 25, 2016). Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know®. What Everyone Needs To Know® (Third ed.). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 85–86, 195. ISBN 9780190262044.
  89. 1 2 3 Nagourney, Carl Hulse and Adam. "McConnell Strategy Shuns Bipartisanship". Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  90. ↑ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  91. ↑ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  92. ↑ Kapur, Sahil (May 27, 2014). "McConnell's Bizarre New Position On Obamacare". talkingpointsmemo.com. TPM Media LLC. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  93. ↑ Bash, Dana; Fox, Lauren; Barrett, Ted (May 9, 2017). "GOP defends having no women in health care group". CNN. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  94. ↑ Bryan, Bob (June 9, 2017). "'We have no idea what's being proposed': Democratic senator gives impassioned speech on GOP healthcare bill secrecy". Business Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  95. ↑ Litvan, Laura (June 13, 2017). "Senate Republicans Are Writing Obamacare Repeal Behind Closed Doors". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  96. ↑ Scott, Dylan (June 9, 2017). "Senate Republicans are closer to repealing Obamacare than you think". Vox. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  97. ↑ Levey, Noam N.; Mascaro, Lisa (June 16, 2017). "Republican secrecy faces mounting criticism as GOP senators work behind closed doors to repeal Obamacare". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  98. ↑ "Kentucky Life Science Council Recognizes Senator Mitch McConnell with Inaugural Life Science Champion Award". Medical News. October 3, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  99. ↑ Snell, Kelsey (January 8, 2016). "Senate passes Obamacare repeal, Planned Parenthood defunding bill, putting Republicans on record". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  100. ↑ Boyer, Dave (December 3, 2015). "Obama vetoes measure to repeal Obamacare". The Washington Times. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  101. ↑ Fabian, Jordan (June 27, 2017). "McConnell on healthcare: 'It'll just take us a little bit longer'". The Hill.
  102. ↑ Haberkorn, Jennifer (July 6, 2017). "McConnell: If we can't repeal Obamacare, we'll fix it". Politico.
  103. ↑ "Senate passes immigration bill". Politico. June 27, 2013.
  104. ↑ Carney, Jordain (February 12, 2018). "McConnell: GOP immigration plan 'best chance' at passing bill". The Hill.
  105. ↑ Bolton, Alexander (February 13, 2018). "McConnell: Senate needs to move on from immigration". The Hill.
  106. ↑ DeBonis, Mike (December 8, 2015). "Ryan, McConnell denounce Trump plan to bar Muslims from the U.S." Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  107. 1 2 "Mitch McConnell got Trump's travel ban upheld". Vox. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  108. ↑ Thomsen, Jacqueline (June 26, 2018). "Mitch McConnell trolls with photo of Gorsuch after travel ban ruling". TheHill. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  109. ↑ "McConnell to Obama: Stop demonizing Iran deal opponents". Chicago Tribune. August 6, 2015.
  110. ↑ Raju, Manu. "Mitch McConnell: Iran a 'defining issue' in 2016". CNN.
  111. ↑ "Senate to consider legislation on North Korea sanctions, Iran: McConnell". Reuters.
  112. ↑ "Congressional leaders split on Trump withdrawal from Iran deal". PBS.org. May 8, 2018.
  113. ↑ "Senate Roll Call: Iraq Resolution". The Washington Post. October 11, 2002. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  114. ↑ "McConnell: Troop Surge In Iraq Showing Early Signs Of Success". WYMT. Associated Press. March 5, 2007. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  115. ↑ Raju, Manu (February 3, 2010). "Mitch McConnell attacks President Obama's terrorism policies". Politico. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  116. ↑ Bloomberg, June 22, 2006, Republicans to Use Votes to Cast Democrats as Weak on Terrorism
  117. ↑ "Editorial: McConnell's true colors". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. November 11, 2010. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012.
  118. ↑ "CNN Political Ticker". Cnn.com. May 13, 2007. Archived from the original on May 30, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  119. ↑ Mitch McConnell (April 21, 2009). "Republican Leader McConnell's April 21, 2009 floor speech". United States Senate. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009.
  120. ↑ Carol Rosenberg (April 21, 2009). "GOP leader McConnell wants more scrutiny of prison closing costs". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009.
  121. ↑ "McConnell: Casey Anthony verdict a warning". UPI. July 11, 2011.
  122. ↑ "How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts". Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  123. ↑ "Three More Judges Said to be Vetted for Supreme Court". The New York Times. March 4, 2016.
  124. 1 2 "McConnell throws down the gauntlet: No Scalia replacement under Obama". Politico. February 13, 2016.
  125. ↑ Shear, Michael D.; Harris, Gardiner (March 16, 2016). "Obama Chooses Merrick Garland for Supreme Court". The New York Times.
  126. ↑ Nina Totenberg, 170-Plus Days And Counting: GOP Unlikely To End Supreme Court Blockade Soon, NPR, All Things Considered (September 6, 2016).
  127. ↑ Jess Bravin, President Obama’s Supreme Court Nomination of Merrick Garland Expires, Wall Street Journal (January 3, 2017).
  128. ↑ Barnes, Robert (January 31, 2017). "Trump picks Colo. appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court". Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  129. ↑ Adam Liptak; Matt Flegenheimer (April 8, 2017). "Neil Gorsuch Confirmed by Senate as Supreme Court Justice". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  130. ↑ "Supreme Court vacancy watch Day 179: Where's Mitch McConnell on Trump's 'Second Amendment people'?". dailykos.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  131. ↑ "Mitch McConnell: Proud Moment When I Told Obama 'You Will Not Fill This Supreme Court Vacancy'". Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  132. ↑ "Tea Party-Aligned Kentucky Gov May End 95-Year Democratic Reign". rollcall.com. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  133. ↑ "McConnell on midterm elections: 'The wind is going to be in our face'". Kentucky Today. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  134. ↑ "McConnell signals he would push to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 despite 2016 example". Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  135. ↑ Platoff, Emma. "Senate confirms a top Abbott adviser, Andrew Oldham, to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  136. ↑ Carney, Jordain. "Senate GOP poised to break record on Trump's court picks". The Hill. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  137. 1 2 3 4 MacGillis, Alex (December 23, 2014). The Cynic. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501112034.
  138. ↑ Zengerle, Jason (November 2013). "Get Mitch". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  139. ↑ "Party polarization america war over two social contracts". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  140. 1 2 The Obama Presidency and the Politics of Change | Edward Ashbee | Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 55, 62.
  141. 1 2 Rockman, Bert A. (October 10, 2012). "The Obama Presidency: Hope, Change, and Reality". Social Science Quarterly. 93 (5): 1065–1080. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2012.00921.x. ISSN 0038-4941.
  142. ↑ Isquith, Elias (September 23, 2013). "The disappearing Mitch McConnell". Salon. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  143. ↑ "Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem". Washington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  144. ↑ Mann, Thomas; Ornstein, Norman (2016). It's Even Worse Than It Looks. Basic Books.
  145. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hacker, Jacob; Pierson, Paul (February 14, 2017). American Amnesia. ISBN 9781451667837.
  146. 1 2 3 Levitsky, Steven; Ziblatt, Daniel. "How Democracies Die". Penguin Randomhouse. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  147. ↑ Page, Benjamin; Gilens, Martin (2018). Democracy in America?. University of Chicago Press. p. 158.
  148. ↑ SKOCPOL, THEDA; JACOBS, LAWRENCE R. (2012). "Accomplished and Embattled: Understanding Obama's Presidency". Political Science Quarterly. 127 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1002/j.1538-165x.2012.tb00718.x. ISSN 0032-3195.
  149. ↑ Slotnick, Elliot; Schiavoni, Sara; Goldman, Sheldon (2017). "Obama's Judicial Legacy: The Final Chapter". Journal of Law and Courts. 5 (2): 363–422. doi:10.1086/693347. ISSN 2164-6570. the major responsibility for the obstruction and delay of Obama judges in the 114th Congress falls to Majority Leader McConnell and the allied leadership in the Republican Senate caucus
  150. ↑ Hetherington, Marc J.; Rudolph, Thomas J. (March 29, 2018). "Political Trust and Polarization". doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190274801.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190274801-e-15.
  151. 1 2 Koger, Gregory (2016). Party and Procedure in the United States Congress, Second Edition. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 223.
  152. ↑ "When did McConnell say he wanted to make Obama a 'one-term president'?". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  153. 1 2 Smith, Steven (2014). The Senate Syndrome: The Evolution of Procedural Warfare in the Modern U.S. Senate. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 287.
  154. 1 2 3 Review, Columbia Law. "ASYMMETRIC CONSTITUTIONAL HARDBALL - Columbia Law Review". Columbia Law Review. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  155. 1 2 Mann, E.J. Dionne Jr., Norm Ornstein, Thomas E. (September 19, 2017). "How the GOP Prompted the Decay of Political Norms". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  156. 1 2 Schickler, Eric; Wawro, Gregory J. (January 3, 2011). "What the Filibuster Tells Us About the Senate". The Forum. 9 (4). doi:10.2202/1540-8884.1483. ISSN 1540-8884.
  157. ↑ The Trump Presidency: Outsider in the Oval Office. Rowman & Littlefield. 2017. p. 71.
  158. 1 2 Mounk, Yascha (2018). "The People vs. Democracy". www.hup.harvard.edu. Harvard University Press.
  159. ↑ "Mitch McConnell filibusters himself after Dems call bluff". Public Radio International. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  160. ↑ McAuliff, Michael (December 6, 2012). "Debt Ceiling Bluff Called By Harry Reid, Leaving Mitch McConnell To Filibuster Himself". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  161. ↑ Levinson, Sanford (2012). Framed: America's 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780199890750.
  162. ↑ Sinclair, Barbara (2012), "Senate Parties and Party Leadership, 1960–2010", The U.S. Senate: From Deliberation to Dysfunction, CQ Press, pp. 85–109, retrieved October 11, 2018
  163. ↑ Browning, Christopher R. "The Suffocation of Democracy". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  164. ↑ Muirhead, Russell. "The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age". Harvard University Press. p. 254.
  165. ↑ Green, Joshua. "Strict Obstructionist". Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  166. ↑ "The new master of the Senate?".
  167. ↑ "If Democrats Want to Challenge Trump, They Need a New Strategy". Harvard Business Review. February 23, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  168. ↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (June 27, 2017). "McConnell's Reputation as a Master Tactician Takes a Hit" – via www.nytimes.com.
  169. ↑ Boehner, John. "Mitch McConnell: The World's 100 Most Influential People".
  170. ↑ "The Least Popular U.S. Senators". InsideGov (Graphiq). Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  171. ↑ Ostermeier, Dr. Eric (November 29, 2015). "Which States Give Their US Senators the Lowest Marks?". Smart Politics. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  172. ↑ Cirilli, Kevin (December 12, 2012). "Poll: The most unpopular senator". POLITICO. Politico LLC. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  173. ↑ John E. Kleber, Kentucky Bicentennial Commission, Thomas Dionsius Clark, and Lowell H. Harrison, The Kentucky Encyclopedia, University Press of Kentucky, 1992, page 592, accessed July 30, 2010.
  174. ↑ "Mitch McConnell Fast Facts". CNN. February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  175. ↑ Horowitz, Jason (May 13, 2014). "Girding for a Fight, McConnell Enlists His Wife". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  176. ↑ "Sherrill Redmon Retires". Smith College. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  177. 1 2 Barrett, Ted. "Chao confirmed as transportation secretary". Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  178. ↑ "Roll Call Vote 115th Congress - 1st Session:On the Nomination (Confirmation Elaine L. Chao, of Kentucky, to be Secretary of Transportation". United States Senate. January 31, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  179. ↑ "Board | youth community | service award". Jefferson Awards.org. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  180. ↑ Dyche, John David (2009). Republican Leader: A Political Biography of Senator Mitch McConnell. Intercollegiate Studies Institute. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-935191-59-9.
  181. ↑ Southworth, Ann (2008). Lawyers of the right: professionalizing the conservative coalition. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-226-76836-6.
  182. ↑ "The Long Rifleman Louisville-Thruston Chapter" (PDF). Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  183. ↑ "Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), 2010". OpenSecrets.org. December 3, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  184. ↑ Lee Fang (October 30, 2014). "Mitch McConnell's Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company". The Nation.
  185. ↑ Bresnahan, John (June 12, 2009). "Members' fortunes see steep declines". Politico. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  186. ↑ Cohn, Alicia M. (April 21, 2013). "Sen. Mitch McConnell cast in sitcom 'Alpha House'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  187. ↑ Sherfinski, David (May 13, 2015). "Mitch McConnell on Jon Stewart's turtle comparisons: 'I loved it'". The Washington Times.

Further reading

  • .Green, Joshua (January 5, 2011). "Recommended Reading on Mitch McConnell". The Atlantic.
  • MacGillis, Alec (December 21, 2014). The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781501112034.
  • Milbank, Dana (April 7, 2017). "Mitch McConnell, the man who broke America". Washington Post.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Vincent Rakestraw		 Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs
Acting
1975		 Succeeded by
Michael Uhlmann
Preceded by
Todd Hollenbach		 Judge-Executive of Jefferson County
1978–1984		 Succeeded by
Bremer Ehrler
Party political offices
Preceded by
Louis Guenthner		 Republican nominee for United States Senator from Kentucky
(Class 2)
1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014		 Most recent
Preceded by
Al D'Amato		 Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
1997–2001		 Succeeded by
Bill Frist
Preceded by
Don Nickles		 Senate Republican Whip
2003–2007		 Succeeded by
Trent Lott
Preceded by
Bill Frist		 Senate Republican Leader
2007–present		 Incumbent
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
Walter Huddleston		 U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Kentucky
1985–present
Served alongside: Wendell Ford, Jim Bunning, Rand Paul		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Warren Rudman		 Ranking Member of the Senate Ethics Committee
1993–1995		 Succeeded by
Richard Bryan
Preceded by
Richard Bryan		 Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
1995–1997		 Succeeded by
Bob Smith
Preceded by
John Warner		 Chair of the Senate Rules Committee
1999–2001		 Succeeded by
Chris Dodd
Chair of the Joint Inaugural Ceremonies Committee
2000–2001		 Succeeded by
Trent Lott
Preceded by
???		 Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee
2001		 Succeeded by
Chris Dodd
Preceded by
Chris Dodd		 Chair of the Senate Rules Committee
2001
Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee
2001–2003
Preceded by
Harry Reid		 Senate Majority Whip
2003–2007		 Succeeded by
Dick Durbin
Senate Minority Leader
2007–2015		 Succeeded by
Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
2015–present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Chuck Grassley		 United States Senators by seniority
4th		 Succeeded by
Richard Shelby
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.