Republican Senators Just Gifted Mitch McConnell Power To Thwart President Trump’s Agenda in the Senate

Within hours of spearheading the Senate GOP resistance against President Trump’s first choice for Attorney General, leading Matt Gaetz to remove his name from consideration for the top DOJ position, Mitch McConnell has taken further steps to thwart President Trump’s agenda in the Senate.

Although he will be resigning his position as Senate Majority Leader, he has summarily decided to take over two different leadership positions instead, with the apparent blessing of Senate Republicans — including that of the new Senate Majority Leader, John Thune.

In a statement released on the Senate Majority Leader’s official website, McConnell has announced that he will be chairing both the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

I likely don’t have to remind you of this video of Mitch McConnell completely freezing up during a press conference last year.

The Senate Majority Leader of the United States had to be escorted from the podium while exhibiting less cognition than many dementia patients.

BREAKING NOW: Mitch McConnell FREEZES MID SPEECH at Senate press conference, is escorted from podium..

pic.twitter.com/qrZPuktvF6

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) July 26, 2023

And then, barely a month later during a press conference broadcast live on local Kentucky news station WLWT, he did it again!

🚨 How tf does Mitch McConnell still have a job!? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/SqTvVXgopZ

— Valentin Erikson (@eriksonvalentin) November 22, 2024

In fact, Mitch McConnell has frozen up so many times during live events that he has earned the nickname “Mr. Freeze”.

JUST IN:

After stepping down as Senate GOP leader, @LeaderMcConnell Mitch McConnell says he plans on obstructing President Trump’s agenda by becoming the Senate Rules Committee chairman for the next two years.

He can’t get through a press conference without stroking out. But he… pic.twitter.com/hGq5I4EZew

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 22, 2024

Unfortunately, McConnell’s obvious deteriorating health and reduced mental acuity aren’t the only issues that should have negated his continued presence in the Senate — much less the powerful positions dictating Senate rules and defense spending.

McConnell has also consistently sided with those determined to thwart President Trump’s agenda in his upcoming administration.

As we previously reported, he was one of 5 Senate Republicans whose resistance to Matt Gaetz as Attorney General ultimately led to Gaetz removing himself from consideration for the top DOJ spot.

The 5 GOP Senators Who Sank Matt Gaetz’s AG Nomination, But Is President Trump Playing 4D Chess?

Contrary to President Trump's agenda of rebuilding our military, while simultaneously reducing the need for the "forever wars" that have proven to be the bread and butter lining the personal pocketbooks of many RINOs and democrats in Congress, McConnell has consistently pushed the U.S. towards conflict -- not away from it.

Further stoking fears that he will continue to thwart President Trump's agenda, McConnell will also be working hand in hand with the incoming Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins -- according to a report in The Hill.  Collins also happened to be counted among the 5 Republicans who sank Gaetz' Attorney General nomination.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday announced plans to shift into two key roles in the next Congress as he prepares to hand over the torch as the upper chamber’s top Republican.

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McConnell, who first announced he was stepping down from his leadership post in February, said Thursday that he will be heading up the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

“America’s national security interests face the gravest array of threats since the Second World War. At this critical moment, a new Senate Republican majority has a responsibility to secure the future of U.S. leadership and primacy,” McConnell, a longtime defense hawk, said in a statement.

McConnell said he looks “forward to working closely” with incoming Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (Maine), who currently serves as top Republicans on the committee and its defense funding subcommittee.

He also said he intends to head the Senate Rules Committee in the next Congress.

“Defending the Senate as an institution and protecting the right to political speech in our elections remain among my longest-standing priorities,” he said. “Ranking Member Deb Fischer has done an outstanding job advancing these causes, and I know she will remain a key partner in the committee’s ongoing work.”

One of the primary concerns for President Trump will be his ability to alter defense spending budgets to fit the rebuilding of our military after the damage done by the Biden-Harris administration, while drawing down on money going to foreign powers.

With McConnell at the head of the subcommittee that steers such decisions in the Senate, that concern may prove to be one of President Trump's biggest hurdles.

Here's more detail on that from local Kentucky paper, the Lexington Herald Leader.

Mitch McConnell’s decision to head the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense will give the outgoing GOP leader sweeping influence on funding for personnel, operations, equipment and modernization efforts across the U.S. military.

It will also mean that Kentucky’s major military bases — including Fort Knox, Fort Campbell and the Blue Grass Army Depot — are likely to reap benefits from the senior senator’s oversight of hundreds of billions of dollars.

The role is often in tension with the president’s defense budget request. For instance, this year’s Senate bill for military appropriations included $852 billion in funding, exceeding President Biden’s proposal by $2.4 billion.

McConnell has consistently argued that defense allocations are too low, a point of contention that could set up another clash with President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on ending foreign involvement in wars overseas, like Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.

Besides the power he will wield concerning the appropriations of defense spending, he will also be chairing the committee that literally sets the rules for the Senate.

That will include the rules for recess appointments -- a powerful tool that President Trump intended to use to thwart Congressional attempts to cut off his agenda at the knees, starting with his cabinet appointments.

McConnell has already stated that he is against recess appointments.  And now he will chair the committee that makes those rules.

Mitch McConnell is the new leader of the Senate Rules Committee.

They’re doing everything they can to block Trump from implementing his agenda.

How is this man still allowed to lead anything? He should be heading up his retirement home committee instead.

Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/wA0OeXb8nl

— PitunisWorld 🌎 (@ScMesab) November 22, 2024

While President Trump's victory more than two weeks ago at the ballot box was definitive, those policies and principles that won him reelection should not be considered a slam dunk.

As many have stated, the real work is only just beginning.  And unfortunately those with the foresight to recognize that the greatest threats to President Trump's second term would come from RINOs within his own party are being proven right, even before he takes the oath of office.