Senate GOP Hardliners Bemoan Status Quo as McConnell Celebrates Ukraine Aid
Restless conservatives can't wait for one of their own to make a power grab this fall
The bipartisan Senate vote approving $61 billion in emergency aid for war-torn Ukraine is the latest reminder for MAGA-aligned lawmakers that, contrary to their best efforts, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell excels at getting what he wants.
After months of back-and-forth with their similarly fractured House Republican colleagues, a majority of Senate Republicans wound up supporting a supplemental package largely in line with what McConnell and his inner circle had advocated for all along.
While he hailed the foreign aid deal as a victory for “freedom-loving countries around the world,” the growing chorus of McConnell critics – a group that includes failed 2022 leadership challenger Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, delegation mate Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, as well as freshman Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, among others – are counting down the days until he bows out of leadership this fall so they can take a shot at setting the agenda in Washington.
“Whatever his goals and strategy are, he keeps very close to his vest. And only reveals it to us when it's really too late for any of us to do anything about it,” Sen. Johnson, who has coordinated a series of wide-ranging GOP conference meetings lately, grumbled to 24sight at the U.S. Capitol.
He and others are hoping to be kept more in the loop by securing a seat at the leadership table. Senate GOP Whip John Thune and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who are close with McConnell, have announced that they’re running for the top leadership post.
Though they managed to sink the bipartisan border deal Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma, Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona hammered out on behalf of McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate GOP hardliners vowed to continue pulling leadership to the far-right whenever possible.
“Whether it's the border, the budget or whatever the issues we've been talking about on Ukraine, I think there's a lot more conversation going on in the Senate – which is the way we're going to come to a better decision,” Sen. Rick Scott said of the swirling pressure campaign.
Making Tough Calls
McConnell told reluctant colleagues to quit dragging their feet on Ukraine aid already as the final vote drew near.
“The responsibilities of leadership, the value of alliances, the currency of hard power – these are foundational principles. They’re not driven by the fickle politics of any one moment,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Cornyn told 24sight that while he can appreciate those who take comfort in narrow worldviews, that’s simply no way to govern.
“You look back through history and there's always been sort of an isolationist sentiment. And I get it. We need to take care of our own country first,” Cornyn said of the push back from the anti-foreign aid crowd.
“But the fact of the matter is, we are the only democracy that's capable of providing the leadership necessary to keep the world safe. And if we don't do it, then there are others more than happy to fill the vacuum that don't share our values,” he added, in what sounded like a pledge to keep policing the globe that’s likely to rankle MAGA world.
Cornyn declined to say if he’s offered to make peace with any McConnell critics as part of his leadership campaign, stressing that winning over most of the “big and diverse” conference on any given issue is plenty daunting.
“The leader is not a dictator,” Cornyn said of the confines of the job. “But the leader can propose and try to persuade.”
Lankford, who was the lead GOP negotiator on the bipartisan border deal that imploded after presumptive 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump came out against giving incumbent President Joe Biden a legislative win ahead of the November elections, is similarly interested in testing his persuasive powers next year. He announced that he’s running for vice chair of the Senate GOP conference this fall, which would bump the three-term lawmaker up to a full-time leadership role.
Thune and Lankford did not respond to requests for comment about any outreach they’d done as part of their Senate leadership bids.
Regardless of who winds up taking the reins, don’t expect McConnell to fade too far into the background.
“I’ve got one job, as I give up my leader position, and that’s to create a Republican majority in the Senate,” the longest serving Senate leader said of his personal to-do list. He added that he feels “pretty good about our nominees,” estimating that the GOP should flip retiring Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat in ruby red West Virginia.
“One more makes 51,” McConnell said of the pickup math that would return Senate Republicans to power next year.
Agitating for Change
Sen. Johnson has done everything in his power to keep Senate GOP leadership on its toes.
Those efforts have played out in a series of member-requested conference meetings and joint House-Senate press conferences where frustrated conservative Republicans have aired their grievances about everything from the southern border to federal budgeting. His most frequent collaborators include Sens. Rick Scott, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Mike Braun of Indiana, and Marco Rubio of Florida.
“I'm trying to lead a process where we develop a mission statement,” Johnson said of his hope for the GOP conference.
The next step in that process will be getting together in early May, per Marshall’s request, to dig into the 2025 budget and appropriations process. And, of course, continuing to hash out who will succeed McConnell.
“This is not going to come together in one meeting. This is going to be a series of discussions, a series of meetings over the next few months,” Johnson said of the anticipated timeline.
When pressed about who he’d like to have as GOP leader next year, Johnson doubled down on his pick from late 2022.
“I think Rick Scott will probably decide to run again. I supported him last time … and he's certainly an ally here in the Senate,” Johnson said.
While he called Thune and Cornyn “wonderful senators” and “good friends,” the ambitious Florida Republican clearly sees room for improvement on Capitol Hill.
“I’m seriously considering running again,” Rick Scott told 24sight.
“I think the right way of doing this is … you decide what your mission is, what you want to accomplish. Then you put together a leadership team to make that happen,” he said of his objective.
That all sounds great to retiring Sen. Braun.
“If you really wanted change – there are only a few of us here that have run a business, that would actually know what to do, and have the backbone to do it – Rick Scott, to me, would be the guy for that,” the Indiana Republican, who is giving up his seat to run for governor of the Hoosier State, told 24sight.
“The biggest issue facing our country, even above and beyond the border, is the fact that we're now borrowing $2 trillion a year. And that's been a factor of everybody that's been here,” Braun said, spreading blame all around. “The debt doesn't disappear. And no one here seems to have an appetite for just being responsible and not spending more than you take in.”
Marshall told 24sight that Thune and Cornyn both seem “capable of being Senate leader,” but he suspects others may jump into the race.
“I think there are two good options. I'm expecting a third though,” he said.
Tuberville’s counting on an even broader field.
“I think there's gonna be several people running that’s not in the hunt right now,” Tuberville told 24sight, predicting that “three or four – maybe five more – different people” would join the contest before it’s all over.
Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said she expects more conference meetings will crop up as the Senate leadership race tightens, billing the family-style discussions to date as “enormously informative.”
She said she hopes the talks focus on tapping a political play caller “who has a leadership style that's consistent with the wishes of the conference,” rather than holding grudges or settling old scores.
“It's going to have less to do with personalities, and more to do with leadership style,” Lummis said of the succession fight.