WASHINGTON — Republican Leader Mitch McConnell returned to the U.S. Senate this week following a head injury, where he wasted little time resuming his two trademark modes: targeting Democrats and ducking Donald Trump.
McConnell, who spent the last five weeks recovering from a fall, signaled he’d block any attempt to replace ailing California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee to permit more judicial confirmations. He warned President Joe Biden he needed to negotiate a debt ceiling agreement with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, chiding the White House to “stop wasting time.”
And on Tuesday, he employed a dash of humor to avoid commenting on the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“I may have hit my head, but I didn’t hit it that hard,” McConnell told reporters assembled for his first Capitol news conference in more than a month. “Good try.”
McConnell had been absent from Senate business since March 8, when he was admitted to a Washington hospital for falling and sustaining a broken rib and a concussion.
Speaking on the Senate floor, the longest-serving leader in Senate history thanked his colleagues for the warm wishes shared over the ensuing weeks during his recovery.
“Suffice to say — this wasn’t the first time that being hard-headed has served me well,” he quipped.
But his good humor did nothing to soften his posture against the Democratic Party, who has been seeking to install a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee to allow for the approval of more judges.
The 89-year-old Feinstein has been missing from the Senate since February as she battles a bout of shingles. Her absence has stymied Democrats’ ability to shepherd through a raft of judicial nominees, something McConnell has no interest in helping.
“Let’s be clear,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor. “Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees.”
McConnell said the Democrats should focus on putting forward nominees who are able to receive a bipartisan vote.
“I understand our Judiciary Committee colleagues report they cannot find a single past example where their Committee let a member be ‘temporarily replaced’ in the fashion that some Democrats want,” McConnell said.
McConnell has largely stayed on the sidelines during the ongoing maneuvering over how to raise the debt ceiling by the summer. On Monday, he inserted himself into the debate by accusing the president of refusing to consider a compromise that would attract the votes of House Republicans.
“President Biden does not get to stick his fingers in his ears and refuse to listen, talk, or negotiate. And the American people know that,” McConnell said.
McConnell’s public reemergence also helped quell online speculation that bubbled up last week about his future. Advisers swiftly mocked gossip that the 81-year-old McConnell was contemplating retirement.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a longtime leadership ally of McConnell’s, noted the Kentuckian has navigated a myriad of challenges over his long career.
“I don’t expect anything to change,” Cornyn told The Hill.
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