Despite President Trump's endorsement and the Republican National Committee's decision to devote resources to Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore amid sexual allegations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not joining the band wagon. His feelings about the embattled candidate haven't changed, he told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Sen. McConnell on Roy Moore: "There's been no change of heart. I had hoped earlier he would withdraw as a candidate. That obviously is not going to happen." pic.twitter.com/21MZg0Zu1H
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 5, 2017
"There's been no change of heart," McConnell said. "I had hoped earlier he would withdraw as a candidate. That obviously is not going to happen."
If elected, Moore would "immediately" be subjected to an ethics committee investigation, McConnell pledged.
McConnell told Moore to step aside last month when the allegations began escalating. Other top Republicans agreed, some insisting he was "unfit" to serve. On Monday, after Trump announced he was supporting Moore because they can't let a radical Democrat get that Senate seat, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney publicly criticized the decision.
Roy Moore in the US Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation. Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 4, 2017
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Moore's defenders, however, reject the accusations. His spokeswoman Jane Porter said the eight women who have come forward to accuse him are only doing so "to steal this election by deception." The Moore campaign is increasingly changing the narrative to Moore's pro-life policies and contrasting them with Doug Jones's radical abortion agenda.
Alabamans head to the polls a week from today.
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