Josh Hawley blames Mitch McConnell for poor GOP midterm results

By 
 January 3, 2023

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) blamed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for the GOP's poor performance during the midterm elections.

Hawley has been a vocal opponent of McConnell, including opposing his bid to remain the party's Senate leader.

The problem

“I’m from the state of Missouri. We’re pretty independent-minded. In my view, we have to do what is right. You have to have the courage of your convictions. So I’m happy to go out there and say, ‘We need a change in direction in the Senate GOP,'” he told Breitbart News.

“Listen, if you look at the last just two years in the Senate: Cave to Big Pharma on insulin. Cave to Chuck Schumer on gun control. Cave to the radical left on the climate agenda. That’s the so-called infrastructure bill,” he added.

A pattern of weakness

"In November, McConnell worked against House conservatives to push the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill through Congress. House Republicans objected to the omnibus bill because it provided funding for the whole fiscal year," Breitbart News shared in a separate report.

"As an alternative, House Republicans argued for a short term spending bill so they could have more input after the new Republican House majority took office in January," it added.

Trump doesn't like McConnell either

Former President Donald Trump also blasted McConnell for supporting the recent $1.7 trillion spending bill backed by Democrats.

“If the Old Crow waited just 10 days, the Republican Majority in the House could have made the ‘Ominous’ Bill MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.

“Just another win for the Democrats, Mitch, that wouldn’t have happened if ‘Trump’ were President!,” he added.

The string of losses and leftist support has led to calls from Hawley and other GOP leaders to call for new leadership for the party in the Senate.

The concerns also show that being Republican is not enough to guarantee that an elected leader will truly represent conservative values, with some causing a divide within the movement.

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