Despite their differences, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) revealed he was “pulling” for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) to become House Speaker when Republicans take control of the House in January.
McConnell made his comments when asked if he supported McCarthy’s bid, to which he replied, “absolutely, I’m pulling for Kevin.”
McConnell’s positive sentiment toward McCarthy comes after the latter publicly criticized Senate Republicans for joining Democrats to pass an omnibus spending package toward years-end
McCarthy was upset at Republicans in the Senate for not passing a stopgap that would postpone the vote on the annual appropriations bill into 2023.
The House Minority Leader — who is frantically searching for the 218 votes he needs to be elected Speaker when the GOP takeover the House of Representatives — revealed his disappointment about the bill’s passage on Fox News’s “Hannity.”
He told host Sean Hannity that he hoped McConnell wouldn’t back a bill brought to the floor by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) because he believed Democrats are trying to “jam” the GOP “right before Christmas.”.
He also queried why Senate Republicans would move ahead with the appropriations bill when the GOP would have a “stronger hand” in three weeks because of the party reclaiming the House.
He added that a GOP House majority wouldn’t be discussing adding money to the bill but decreasing it.
McConnell has defended his decision to support the spending package, pointing to it being a victory for Republicans because it included allocated more funds to defense programs than non-defense programs, while Democrats wanted the programs treated equally.
