(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The House Freedom Caucus mocked Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., by calling out his true loyalties after the longtime senator announced that he planned to step down as Senate minority leader in November, The Hill reported.
Specifically, the conservative alliance identified the rapidly declining senator, who turned 82 in February, as both a Democrat and a representative of Ukraine:
Our thoughts are with our Democrat colleagues in the Senate on the retirement of their Co-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ukraine).
No need to wait till November… Senate Republicans should IMMEDIATELY elect a *Republican* Minority Leader.
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) February 28, 2024
“Our thoughts are with our Democrat colleagues in the Senate on the retirement of the Co-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ukraine),” they wrote, proceeding to call for Republicans in Congress’s upper chamber not to wait for McConnell’s personal deadline but to do what is best for the party “IMMEDIATELY.”
Conservative satirical website the Babylon Bee was similarly inspired, running the headline “BREAKING: Ukraine To Lose Top Republican Senate Seat.”
McConnell made the announcement on Wednesday—triggering a possible succession crisis among RINO members of the uniparty who have patiently waited their turn since 2007, when McConnell was promoted from majority whip following the retirement of Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” said McConnell. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
On Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, because the first out of the gate to signal his hope of succeeding the longest tenured party leader in the history of the U.S. Senate
McConnell, who will not face re-election until 2026, did not indicate that he planned leave the Senate early, despite stepping down from his leadership role.
However, he would undoubtedly face a steep climb getting re-elected due to his high-profile feud with presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and his increasing estrangement from the Republican Party base on many key issues.
McConnell capitulated to Democrats in February by signing on to a massive redistribution of wealth from the American working class to the Ukrainian government, and he reportedly joined Democrats this week in putting intense pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to do the same.
“Every argument against this is wrong,” McConnell said at the time, defending the $95 billion package, the better part of which is destined for Ukraine.
“I feel strongly this is in our best interest, America’s best interest and the world’s best interests to do this,” he added.
He also faced criticism for refusing to give financial support to several Trump-backed candidates who faced close races during the 2022 midterm election.
Arizona’s Blake Masters, Nevada’s Adam Laxalt, Pennsylvania’s Mehmet Oz, Georgia’s Herschel Walker and other candidates in potentially close races were hung out to dry as McConnell prioritized the primary battle in Alaska to save fellow RINO Lisa Murkowski, costing his party a shot at regaining the majority.
From referring to the funding of Ukraine as America’s “No. 1 priority” to taking a “principled” stand against the Republican voter base, McConnell has doubled and tripled down on mortgaging the future of Americans for his foreign policy ventures.
Meanwhile, another fellow RINO, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, thanked McConnell on the Senate floor Wednesday for his “extraordinary service not only to our caucus but more importantly to the Senate as an institution and our country.”
