Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. 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 .
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." Throughout Obama's tenure, Senate Republicans made frequent use of the filibuster; this meant that any bill needed a supermajority to pass the Senate. Senate Republicans also blocked an unprecedented number of Obama's judicial nominees, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland; McConnell refused to hold a hearing on the Garland nomination. 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. In 2016, 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 upcoming election. During the Trump presidency, Senate Republicans—led by McConnell—broke records on the number of judicial nominees confirmed; those nominees included Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, each of whom was confirmed to the Supreme Court. McConnell later described his decision on the Garland nomination as "the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career".
“There was no involvement whatsoever.”
on WHAS-11, denying his office's spreading lies to the media about Graeme Logan, a brain-damaged recipient of S-CHIP funds, and his family, despite recovery of subject email (see below); October 19, 2007; Countdown http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21378334/| <br class="br">2007
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/34561-2#sthash.QvX3UEVR.dpuf 2016
2007 <br class="br">Source: On the need for testimonies by G.W. Bush White House staffers Fox News Sunday http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/fox-catches-mcconnell/ (April 1, 2007)
On the need for testimonies by Clinton White House staffers Fox News Sunday http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/01/fox-catches-mcconnell/ (June 16, 1996). <br class="br">1997
December 7, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22221245/. <br class="br">2007
“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
So must we all. <br class="br"> Tweet (8 February 2017) https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/829393915325321217 <br class="br">2017
McConnell On SCOTUS Vacancy http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=503FB2A5-205C-4F6F-9BCE-A4473809A4DB on "Fox News Sunday" as Majority Leader of the Senate dismissing the possibility of considering the Supreme Court nominee Merrick B. Garland even after the elections in November (March 20, 2016) <br class="br">2016
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/312710-mcconnell-we-will-not-tolerate-dems-blocking-scotus-nominee <br class="br">2017
Top GOP Priority: Make Obama a One-Term President https://www.nationaljournal.com/member/magazine/top-gop-priority-make-obama-a-one-term-president-20101023, National Journal, (October 23, 2010) <br class="br">2010
“You're more likely to see Elvis again than to see this bill pass the Senate.”
On the McCain-Feingold Bill on Campaign Reform New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/01/us/bill-to-overhaul-campaign-finance-survives-in-house.html, (July 31, 1998) <br class="br">1998
2021, Remarks on Electoral College votes (2021)
Source: " Trump urges GOP senators to vote against McConnell debt deal https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/575876-trump-urged-gop-senators-to-vote-against-mcconnell-debt-deal" (October 7,2021)
“African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”
Source: "Virginia congressman blasts McConnell for comment on voters of color" https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/20/politics/mcconnell-voters-of-color-criticism-mceachin/index.html, CNN, January 21 2022
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful.”
McConnell says it's 'important' for Sen. Lisa Murkowski to win reelection and defeat her Trump-backed opponent https://www.businessinsider.com/mcconnell-important-for-lisa-murkowski-to-win-against-trump-backed-opponent-2022-4 (Apr 7, 2022) <br class="br">2020s, 2022
