Latest Mitch McConnell News
McConnell to head subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he prepares to step down as GOP leader
Sen. Mitch McConnell said Thursday he will lead a subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he carves out new roles once he relinquishes his long-running post as Senate Republican leader. The Kentucky Republican revealed he will assume the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations...
Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who served two Republican presidents as one of the country’s best known conservative lawyers and successfully argued on behalf of same-sex marriage, died Wednesday. He was 84. The law firm Gibson Dunn, where Olson...
Judge sets date for 9/11 defendants to enter pleas, deepening battle over court's independence
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military judge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has scheduled hearings in early January for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants to enter guilty pleas in exchange for life sentences despite Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to scuttle the...
Republican John Thune of South Dakota is elected the next Senate majority leader
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. ...
Senate Republicans settle on a new party leader after seizing the majority on Election Day
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the first seriously contested Senate Republican leadership election in decades. Three senators were competing to succeed longtime GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, when he steps down from the post at the beginning of next year and Republicans take...
Trump pressures candidates for Senate GOP leader to fill his Cabinet right away
WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before Senate Republicans pick their new leader, President-elect Donald Trump is pressuring the candidates to change the rules and empower him to appoint some nominees without a Senate vote. Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas...
Army says the US will restart domestic TNT production at plant to be built in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract on Friday to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky that will become the first domestic source for the explosive material in decades, officials said. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a key player...
GOP picks up more key House seats while Democrats insist they still have a path to a majority
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders projected confidence Thursday that they will keep control of the U.S. House as more races were decided in their favor, while Democrats insisted they still see a path toward the majority and sought assurances every vote will be counted. The GOP...
Republicans take Senate majority and eye unified power with Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate and are fighting to keep their majority in the U.S. House, which would produce a full sweep of GOP power in Congress alongside President-elect Donald Trump in the White House. A unified Republican grip on...
Florida Republican Rick Scott wins a second term in the U.S. Senate
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott easily defeated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell to win a second term Tuesday, and he will now look toward running for Senate leadership. Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is...
