Republican Senator Mitch McConnell was the sole GOP lawmaker to vote against Tulsi Gabbard's to be the next director of national intelligence, marking the second time he rejects President Donald Trump's nominees. The other one was Pete Hegseth, who was ultimately confirmed as Defense Secretary.
None of McConnell's oppositions were successful, as both Gabbard and Hegseth have now been confirmed in their posts. In Hegseth's case he was one of three Republican holdouts along with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, leading Vice President JD Vance to break the 50-50 tie. On Tuesday he was the only member of the GOP to oppose Gabbard, with the vote being 52-48.
The Republican did help tank the nomination of Matt Gaetz, who had to withdraw from consideration as Attorney General after failing to secure enough votes. At least four Republican senators, including McConnell, were "implacably opposed" to his confirmation, the New York Times revealed back in November.
McConnell has opposed Trump more openly since stepping down as the Republican leader in the Upper House and announcing he won't seek reelection after his term ends. In fact, McConnell has called Trump a "narcissist" and saying he was counting the days until he left office in his first term, according to a biography of his that came out last year.
The remarks are part of "The Price of Power," a book by Mitchel Tackett, the deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press. It includes recorded diaries from McConnell spanning almost 30 years and several interviews with him.
Despite this, as well as Trump's visible animosity toward McConnell, the Senate Minority leader endorsed the former president's candidacy earlier in 2024, saying "it should come as no surprise."
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