What McConnell Did After the Hegseth Vote Is Infuriating

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had good qualities. He pushed through Trump’s judicial nominees during the first presidency, got his tax cuts passed, and is a noted legislative strategist and tactician. It doesn’t mean he always bats a thousand, but McConnell got key portions of the Trump agenda passed after the 2016 election. Now, he’s erased all that goodwill with this dastardly vote against Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. McConnell’s defection, plus that of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), led to Vice President JD Vance performing his constitutional duty to break the tie.

Mitch McConnell just voted NO on President Trump’s secretary of defense nominee

This led to VP Vance having to rush down to cast a tie-breaking vote, only the 2nd such vote in U.S. history

As Republican Senators gather around to congratulate Vance, notice McConnell walk over… pic.twitter.com/jPGxgJMTRR
— Zach Henry (@zhenryaz) January 25, 2025

McConnell explained his decision in a lengthy statement, but after he voted, he was caught frolicking with Senate Democrats:

anytime I see an elected official release a very long statement about something https://t.co/jPisSm4JmE pic.twitter.com/E1YSxRDFEW
— Alex Colorado (@alexcolor) January 25, 2025

“The single most important way for Secretary Hegseth to demonstrate his professed devotion to America’s warfighters will be to equip them – urgently – to deter aggression… and rebuild the defense industrial capacity to restock the depleted arsenal of democracy. In this cause, he…
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) January 25, 2025

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, issued the following statement today on the nomination of Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense:
“The most consequential cabinet official in any Administration is the Secretary of Defense. In the face of the gravest threats to U.S. national security interests since World War II, this position is even more important today.
“Major adversaries are working closer together to undermine U.S. interests around the world. And America’s military capabilities and defense industrial capacity are increasingly insufficient to deter or prevail in major conflict with China or Russia, especially given the real risk of simultaneous challenges from other adversaries like Iran or North Korea.
“Stewardship of the United States Armed Forces, and of the complex bureaucracy that exists to support them, is a massive and solemn responsibility. At the gravest moments, under the weight of this public trust, even the most capable and well-qualified leaders to set foot in the Pentagon have done so with great humility – from George Marshall harnessing American enterprise and Atlantic allies for the Cold War, to Caspar Weinberger orchestrating the Reagan build-up, to Bob Gates earning the wartime trust of two Commanders-in-Chief, of both parties.
“Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes. And ‘dust on boots’ fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.
“Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests.
“Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.
“The United States faces coordinated aggression from adversaries bent on shattering the order underpinning American security and prosperity. In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality.
“President Trump has rightly called on NATO allies to spend more on our collective defense. But the nominee who would have been responsible for leading that effort wouldn’t even commit to growing America’s defense investment beyond the low bar set by the Biden Administration’s budget requests.
“In his testimony before the Committee, Mr. Hegseth provided no substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so. He failed, for that matter, to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating from the PRC.
“Absent, too, was any substantive discussion of countering our adversaries’ alignment with deeper alliance relationships and more extensive defense industrial cooperation of our own.
“This, of course, is due to change. As the 29th Secretary of Defense, Mr. Hegseth will be immediately tested by ongoing conflicts caused by Russian aggression in Europe and Iranian-backed terror in the Middle East. He will have to grapple with an unfinished FY25 appropriations process that – without his intervention – risks further harming the readiness of our forces.
“By all accounts, brave young men and women join the military with the understanding that it is a meritocracy. This precious trust endures only as long as lawful civilian leadership upholds what must be a firewall between servicemembers and politics. The Biden Administration failed at this fundamental task. But the restoration of ‘warrior culture’ will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another.
“The single most important way for Secretary Hegseth to demonstrate his professed devotion to America’s warfighters will be to equip them – urgently – to deter aggression… and rebuild the defense industrial capacity to restock the depleted arsenal of democracy. In this cause, he will find willing partners on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which will expect and receive his candid testimony.
“I wish Secretary Hegseth great success, and I look forward to working closely with him to restore American hard power. Every member of the uniformed services will be looking to him for decisive, principled, and nonpartisan leadership.”