Revenge of the Turtle
We mentioned this as a possibility here before, but unfortunately for the Trump agenda, it may be coming true.
Former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell will be a knife in the side of President Trump as payback for past insults and slights. We saw it on full display Friday night, as McConnell voted against Trump’s nominee to become Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
The GOP can only give up three votes or else a measure they support will fail. And that was the margin Friday, with Senators Collins and Murkowski both voting against Hegseth as well. That meant a 50-50 tie, and Vice President Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in favor.
All of that was expected. But after the vote was over, an odd thing happened on the Senate floor. McConnell walked over to a group of Democrats and shook their hands, literally turning his back on fellow Republicans, as if to congratulate them for their joint effort to stymie Trump.
If that sounds familiar, recall that it was Sen. John McCain who eight years ago publicly jabbed his thumb downward to vote no on health care reform, only a foot away from where McConnell was standing. McCain then was welcomed by Democrats following the vote. And the scene Friday night was quite similar.
If McConnell’s vote made the difference, perhaps current leadership could have swayed him. But even though Trump got his man in place, it was a clear sign that McConnell will need to be reckoned with.
McConnell and Trump are certainly at odds, and now that McConnell is free from the leadership circle, he can be a wild card. So far, he has voted for the other Trump nominees. But when names like Patel, Kennedy, and Gabbard are up for votes, what then?
McConnell is obviously keeping a lower profile these days as the former leader. But when the turtle does poke his head out of his shell–watch out.
