Five years ago this month, things didn’t look great for then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The nationalist wing of the party was flourishing and deemed McConnell the “face of the establishment” and an obstacle to their populist agenda.
Despite winning at the ballot box and with legislation, ahead of the 2018 midterms, provocateurs like Steve Bannon made support for McConnell a litmus test in primary elections. After his preferred candidates flopped, the disgraced former White House strategist inexplicably said that removing McConnell was as important as defeating Democrats. Bannon failed again, and McConnell’s celebration of his self-immolation — when the “political genius” lost a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama by standing behind an accused sex offender — was truly classic.
Fast forward and you’ll see that many of Donald Trump’s biggest accomplishments as president — the 2017 tax cut and record-setting judicial appointments, including three Supreme Court confirmations — are the work of McConnell and conservative congressional leaders.
Despite Trump’s latest rantings, he dubbed McConnell the “greatest leader in history” following the hard-fought confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh just three years ago. Trump was right in October 2018.
The Kentuckian’s greatness is achieving essential objectives, like reclaiming the Senate majority in 2014 and turning a liberal advantage on the high court into a conservative majority.
McConnell, who turns 80 in two months, is now the longest-serving leader of Senate Republicans. And he hasn’t lost a step.
His pragmatism was on display in 2016 when he intrepidly vowed to keep Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat open through the presidential election, which Trump surprisingly won. He emphasized opposite-party configuration.
When a sudden court vacancy occurred in September 2020, McConnell was not circumspect; he promised to move swiftly to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat. And he did it.
During the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, McConnell and his stalwart team — Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Kan.) in particular — carried the day.
Democrats deride McConnell’s effectiveness, deeming his skills “obstructionist.” But when Barack Obama was president, even legacy media proclaimed McConnell a dealmaker. They could not deny his brilliant tactical skills or that he knows how to effectively exercise power.
His position in 2020 was consistent. As the leader said four years ago, if the shoe were on the other foot, a Democrat Senate would not confirm a Republican president‘s nominee if the vacancy occurred in an election year. It had been 132 years since a different party from the president confirmed a Supreme Court nominee in an election year.
Related: Republicans Mocked for Supporting Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill are Vindicated
McConnell recently won again, embarrassing hapless Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer. The Republican leader backed bipartisan infrastructure legislation to frustrate leftists who wanted to use the smaller spending bill to help sell their vastly larger spending agenda — until it was cleverly split off from the rest of the radical agenda.
The American people just got an early Christmas present. Let’s leave Biden’s reckless tax-and-spending spree on the ash heap of history & put our nation on a path toward prosperity & personal freedom — not socialism & government overreach.
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) December 19, 2021
“Fact is, McConnell’s been a huge success as Senate GOP chief,” the New York Post editorial board claimed Monday. “While Trump held the White House, he managed to confirm more than 300 federal judges despite scorched-earth Democratic resistance, including three to the Supreme Court. And he’s managed to block much of Biden’s agenda despite being in the minority. If the former president wants to keep guiding Republican voters, he should stick to the big picture and leave the tactics to Mitch.”
That’s factually correct, over and over again.
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