Two of Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees made it through the Senate confirmation process this week – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence – but it was no thanks to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Both votes ended in a 52 to 48 tally, meaning every Senate Democrat voted ‘no’ and every Senate Republican, except McConnell, voted ‘yes.’ Those ‘nays’ marked the second and third time the longtime GOP leader broke with his party in the confirmation process (he also voted against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth), and the question on the minds of many is why?
On Thursday’s show, Megyn and Josh Holmes, McConnell’s former chief of staff and campaign manager and current co-host of Ruthless, discussed McConnell’s history with Trump and why he has been a holdout on some of the votes.
McConnell’s History
The Senate has been busy working its way through the confirmation process for Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Wednesday and Thursday saw the full chamber votes for Gabbard and Kennedy respectively, and McConnell ended up being the only GOP member to break from party lines.
Last month, McConnell joined Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposing Hegseth to head the Department of Defense, forcing Vice President J.D. Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote in his favor.
The trio of ‘nos’ has been a headline-making decision for the 82 year old, who stepped down from Senate leadership at the end of last year but has chosen to serve out the remainder of his term. His 18 years at the helm of the Senate Republican Conference – including two stints as minority leader (2007 to 2015 and 2021 to 2025) and one as majority leader (2015 to 2021) – made him the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, but he no longer appears in sync with the caucus.
His term as Senate majority leader coincided with Trump’s first term, and the two have had a rocky relationship. But Megyn said McConnell also did a lot of good. “I am not one of those rabid McConnell haters… I know there are a lot on Team Trump, and I get it,” she explained. “Personally, I can’t get over all the good he did for the country when it comes to Article III judges and the Supreme Court. We would not have the Supreme Court that we have if it weren’t for Mitch McConnell. He is a true blue conservative, dyed in the wool Republican, but he hates Trump and Trump hates him.”
The Votes
It is that current dynamic, Megyn said, that “has turned into a problem for Republicans, and Trump, and the country.” Holmes believes the situation with McConnell and the nominees boils down to the positioning of the Republican Party today.
While he praised Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) for getting the GOP on board with Trump’s Cabinet picks, he said there is no denying the fact that nominees like Kennedy and Gabbard “entered into the public discussion in a very controversial place” that led to “some concern inside of a traditional Republican Party.”
Despite the unconventionality, Republican senators got in line. So, where does that leave McConnell? “Ultimately, [the nominees] work for Donald Trump, and that’s what it is that they are voting to support… They trust Donald Trump,” Holmes explained. “Where McConnell comes into all of that is he is just sort of traditionally where he has always been, but the party is moved. The party is very much a Trump party. He is a Reagan Republican.”
“I think that is more indicative of the change in the Republican Party and sort of the lack of pressure that he feels personally,” he continued. “I don’t think that he is doing what he is doing out of spite for Donald Trump.”
To that point, McConnell has, thus far, voted in favor of all of Trump’s other nominees, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “If it were spiteful, he would have voted against Rubio [and the others],” Megyn noted.
Moving Forward
Long term, Holmes does not see McConnell being a thorn in the president’s side. In fact, he believes he could prove to be an important ally in the impending budget showdown.
“I think he is going to be a force for good… as you get into these thorny issues of reconciliation and budget and taxes and all these things because his ideology hasn’t changed a lick,” Holmes said. “It is just not reflected when you get into that more libertarian area of defense and foreign affairs, in particular, where a lot of Republicans still have issues with that. He just doesn’t feel the same political pressures as everybody else.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Ruthless by tuning in to episode 1,007 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.