{"id":570658,"date":"2023-04-18T01:23:21","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T22:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mcconnell-returns-to-capitol-as-gop-faces-full-plate-of-challenges\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T01:23:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T22:23:21","slug":"mcconnell-returns-to-capitol-as-gop-faces-full-plate-of-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mcconnell-returns-to-capitol-as-gop-faces-full-plate-of-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"#McConnell returns to Capitol as GOP faces full plate of challenges\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/mcconnellmitch_041723ag03_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) returned to the Capitol Monday after a five-and-a-half-week absence as his party faces an array of tough political problems: the expiration of the debt limit, a messy fight over the 2024 presidential nomination and divisions over abortion policy. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell has been the GOP\u2019s steady hand on the levers of power in Washington for more than a decade, and he now faces some of the biggest challenges of his career. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s good to be back,\u201d McConnell declared Monday in his first Senate floor speech in nearly six weeks, making a quip about the concussion he suffered last month. \u201cSuffice it to say, this wasn\u2019t the first time that being hardheaded has served me very well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Senate leader\u2019s biggest im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te challenge is to figure out how to help break the impasse between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the debt limit, which is projected to expire this summer, perhaps as soon as June.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell played a key role in brokering compromises to avoid national default in 2011 and 2021, and lawmakers are starting to look for him to step in after weeks of stalemate between Biden and McCarthy. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So far, he has stayed well away from the negotiations. But on Monday he took a step toward the fray by scolding Biden on the Senate floor for refusing to negotiate with McCarthy. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Biden does not get to stick his fingers in his ears and refuse to listen, talk or negotiate. And the American people know that. The White House needs to stop wasting time and start negotiating with the Speaker of the House,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) feel comfortable not engaging with McCarthy directly on the debt limit, betting that he\u2019ll cave under increasing political and financial market pressure to avoid a default. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Schumer on Monday panned McCarthy\u2019s proposal to extend the debt limit for only one year and package it with a variety of spending reforms as a \u201cterrible idea.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell responded on the Senate floor by pointing out that \u201cjust a few years ago\u201d Schumer had declared under a Republican president that the debt ceiling provides \u201cample opportunity for bipartisanship, not for one party jamming its choices down the throats of another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell also faces an increasingly acrimonious and destructive battle between former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the two frontrunners for the party\u2019s presidential nomination in 2024. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>McConnell was absent from Congress, recuperating from a fall at the Waldorf Astoria on March 8, when DeSantis stepped on a political landmine last month by declaring that the war in Ukraine was not a vital U.S. security interest. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also missed the political circus that surrounded Trump\u2019s indictment on 34 felony charges on April 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s attacks on DeSantis have become increasingly hard-hitting, as evidenced by a new ad funded by a Trump-allied PAC accusing the Florida governor of supporting cuts to Medicare and Social Security and suggesting he eats chocolate pudding with his fingers. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The Kentucky senator made clear after last year\u2019s midterm election that he thought \u201cchaos\u201d and \u201cnegativity\u201d associated with Trump was a drag on Senate Republican candidates because he turned off moderate and swing voters, but Trump\u2019s popularity with Republican voters has only swelled over the past month. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Trump now leads DeSantis by nearly 29 points in an average of nationwide polls conducted since late March. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s presidential campaign has also gained more support in the Senate GOP conference after Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) endorsed him this week, bringing Trump\u2019s total number of Senate Republican endorsements to nine. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>On the policy front, Republicans are divided over abortion, which is becoming a tricky litmus test for potential Republican hopefuls. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former Vice President Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) were grilled about their views about the death penalty for abortion providers and a national abortion ban, respectively, in recent interviews. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell tried to keep abortion politics out of last year\u2019s Senate races by declaring that there weren\u2019t 60 votes in the Senate for passing any federal abortion ban. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Republican senators greeted McConnell\u2019s return to the Senate with a sense of relief as it enters a five-week work period in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s back. I texted him earlier, said, \u2018Look forward to seeing him here in the next 20 minutes,\u2019\u201d said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) before the weekly Senate Republican leadership meeting, which McConnell hasn\u2019t attended since early March. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn, an adviser to the Senate leadership team, said McConnell has unmatched experience navigating the toughest political challenges Congress encountered over the past decade and a half. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been here a long time and he\u2019s navigated those challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t expect anything to change.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McConnell\u2019s absence had stoked some speculation about how much longer he plans to lead the Senate Republican conference and who is most likely to succeed him as leader. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But McConnell, who is 81 and was reelected in 2020, looked on Monday to be fully recovered and didn\u2019t show any sign that he\u2019s thinking about retiring before his term expires at the end of 2026. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re truly lucky and blessed that we get to serve in this remarkable institution, represent our home states, and serve our country, and needless to say I\u2019m very h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y to be back,\u201d he said in his return speech. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And Republican senators say McConnell has a lock on the top job for as long as he wants it. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cornyn on Monday waved aside any notion that he\u2019s trying to build political support to replace McConnell by having private lunches with Senate colleagues. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI regularly have lunches with colleagues and help where I can,\u201d he said, but quickly added: \u201cI\u2019m for Mitch McConnell being the majority leader as long as he can serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/3955605-mcconnell-returns-to-capitol-as-gop-faces-full-plate-of-challenges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) returned to the Capitol Monday after a five-and-a-half-week absence as his party faces an array of tough political problems: the expiration of the debt limit, a messy fight over the 2024 presidential nomination and divisions over abortion policy. \u00a0\u00a0 McConnell has been the GOP\u2019s steady hand on the levers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":570659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/mcconnellmitch_041723ag03_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134417,139252,134353,134661,73014,90482,991,35813,41445,29102,70289],"class_list":["post-570658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-business-economy","tag-court-battles","tag-energy-environment","tag-health-care","tag-house","tag-joe-biden","tag-kevin-mccarthy","tag-mitch-mcconnell","tag-ron-desantis","tag-senate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}