Mitch McConnell Takes Personal Jab at Hegseth After Almost Tanking Him

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell threw several personal shots at President Donald Trump’s scandal-plagued secretary of defense Pete Hegseth just as he was barely confirmed for the job on Friday.

McConnell, who stepped down as GOP’s Senate leader last year, joined two other Republicans opposing the Army veteran and former Fox News host: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. However, McConnell made no prior indication on how he intended to vote nor his feelings for Hegseth until he released a lengthy statement in light of Hegseth’s confirmation.

“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,” said McConnell, who voted to to advance the nomination a day prior.

About the gravitas of character required to lead the Pentagon, McConnell said Hegseth’s 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,” wrote McConnell. “Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.”

He added, “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.”

According to McConnell, “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,” added McConnell.

Although Hegseth’s nomination was ultimately successful, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie, Trump shared what was most important in a response to McConnell’s criticism.

“I didn’t even know that,” Trump told the press in Los Angeles on Friday. “Winning is what matters, right? So thank you very much, everybody.”

He added, “Of course, Mitch is always a no vote, I guess.”

Trump has regularly locked horns with the former Senate Republican Leader over the years.

After the Jan. 6 insurrection, McConnell said Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for what had transpired. And when Trump this week pardoned violent offenders from that day, McConnell disagreed.

In his oral diaries, McConnell also said the electorate showed “good judgment” for “firing” Trump in 2020. (McConnell did ultimately endorse Trump’s 2024 reelection bid.)

Trump’s attacks on McConnell have not only been political--splitting on Ukraine funding, for instance--but personal as well. While out of office, Trump lobbed racist broadsides against McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who had served in Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.

“Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?” Trump wrote on Truth Social in Jan. 2023. “Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China.”

Chao responded by taking Trump to task.

“When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation,” Chao said. “He doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.”