Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is shifting his focus to retaking the majority in 2022, saying he would support Republican candidates in the primaries based on their eligibility, even if it meant opposing Trump-backed rivals, he revealed in a statement. a new interview.
“My goal is, in every way possible, to have nominated representatives of the Republican Party who can win in November. Some of them may be people the former president likes. Some of them may not be. The only thing that interests me is eligibility, ”the top-ranking Republican official told Politico in a telephone interview over the weekend.
The Kentucky senator warned, however, that it did not mean that he planned to naturally oppose any candidates endorsed by Trump.
“I’m not predicting that the president would support people who couldn’t win. But I think that eligibility – not who supports who – is the critical point ”, he argued.
The Senate is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, although Vice President Kamala Harris has a tiebreaker vote, giving the left a single vote advantage.
Despite being in the minority now, McConnell expressed confidence about the next race.
“The difference between now and 2009 is the difference between 40 and 50. I was there in 2009. I know how it looks after you were defeated. We were not defeated. We lost the White House. “
Asked if he would object if former President Trump went to the White House again in 2024, McConnell refused to respond, saying simply, “I’m focused on 22.”
The Kentucky Republican voted to absolve the former president in the Senate impeachment trial last week.
Still, he argued that Trump had the moral responsibility for the siege of the Capitol last month, which led to him being impeached in the House.
“President Trump is not constitutionally eligible for sentencing” as a result of having already stepped down, but that “there is no doubt – none – that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for causing the events of that day,” he said in Senate floor.