Topline
A war of words between former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatens to create an all-out schism in the Senate GOP caucus just as Republicans are meant to be gearing up to oppose President Joe Biden’s agenda and retake the chamber in 2022 – with several Republican senators already making their allegiances clear.
Key Facts
Trump slammed McConnell as “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack” and vowed to back right-wing primary challengers against some incumbent Republican senators after McConnell said Trump is “practically and morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 attack in a floor speech and called his behavior “unconscionable” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
McConnell took Trump’s attack in stride, according to CNN, which reported that he “laughed about it,” but Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) said McConnell should “zip his lips” and declared that his floor speech “did not reflect the majority of our conference.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said McConnell’s speech “put a load on the back of Republicans,” and called Trump “the most consequential Republican in the party,” adding, “If Mitch McConnell doesn’t understand that, he’s missing a lot.”
But Senate GOP Whip John Thune told the New York Times McConnell has his “full support and confidence” after warning of the GOP becoming a “cult of personality,” while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said McConnell is on “very solid ground” and prepared for Trump’s “slings and arrows.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he “definitely” supports McConnell and dismissed the scuffle with Trump, stating: “Senator McConnell said some things that got his ire up, and bottom line is he punched back.”
McConnell hasn’t commented on Trump since the Journal op-ed, and an unnamed person familiar with his thinking told CNN, "You probably are not going to hear him utter the name Donald Trump ever again.”
Key Background
Unlike their upper chamber counterparts, House Republicans have largely fallen in line with Trump. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Scalise spokesperson Lauren Fine told Forbes. Trump agreed to help Republicans win back the House in 2022 after meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy last month. Meanwhile, under Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm has adopted firmly pro-Trump messaging, such as labeling the impeachment trial “INSANITY” and selling Trump-themed Valentine’s Day shirts.
Big Number
43. That’s how many of the 50 Republicans in the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial on Saturday – McConnell, Thune, Capito and Scott among them.
Crucial Quote
“The Republicans are soft. They only hit their own, like Mitch,” Trump said in an interview with Newsmax, signaling that he doesn’t plan to let up on McConnell even as McConnell appears to have ceased fire on him.
Surprising Fact
Nikki Haley, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the U.N., was denied a meeting with the former president at Mar-a-Lago, according to Politico. Haley has attempted to straddle the line between positioning herself as a post-Trump Republican while maintaining good ties with the ex-president.
What To Watch For
It remains unclear which Senate Republicans Trump plans to target, though a senior Trump campaign official told Forbes in December that Thune and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump, are top targets. Both are up for re-election in 2022.
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February 19, 2021 at 05:31AM
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Senate Republicans Take Sides In Emerging Civil War Between Trump And McConnell - Forbes
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