Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Mitch McConnell wins top GOP leadership slot, with 10 splitting for Rick Scott. 'I voted for change,' Lindsey Graham said

Mitch McConnell wins top GOP leadership slot, with 10 splitting for Rick Scott. 'I voted for change,' Lindsey Graham said

The vote makes McConnell the longest-serving Senate leader in history as Democrats keep control of the upper chamber.
Republicans in the Senate voted Wednesday to have Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky remain as their GOP leader.

McConnell fought off a challenge by GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee and formally announced during the Republican lunch on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that he'd be running to replace McConnell. This was the first time McConnell had faced a challenger during his time as GOP leader.

"I welcome the contest," McConnell told reporters after Scott announced his bid.

Scott received 10 votes — including from just reelected Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — and McConnell received 37, while one senator voted present.

The vote was held behind closed doors, but several senators made their vote public, including GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of former President Donald Trump.

"I voted for change," he told reporters. "I accept the results of the conference, and I hope we can be better."

He later elaborated on Twitter.

"Congratulations to Senator McConnell on his reelection as Senate Minority Leader," Graham tweeted. "I supported and voted for a delay in the leadership election. I believe the process was rushed and a delayed vote would have done the conference enormous good in finding unanimity. At the end of the day, I voted for change."


Several Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, wanted to delay the leadership vote until after the Georgia runoff, set for December 6.

On Tuesday, Scott backer Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana told congressional reporters that he was tired of being cut out of "significant policy" talks. "I want to feel like I'm part of the process," Braun said while Scott was still pitching his leadership challenge to the GOP caucus.

After the Senate leadership vote, Scott released a statement saying that he had long "been frustrated by the broken status quo in Washington that continuously fails to deliver on its promises to the American people."

"Although the results of today's elections weren't what we hoped for, this is far from the end of our fight to Make Washington Work," he said.

During the closed-door hearing, Republican colleagues of Scott and McConnell said the two men engaged in a tense back and forth with one another.

"Sen. Scott disagrees with the approach that Mitch has taken in this election and for the last couple of years, and he made that clear and Sen. McConnell criticized Sen. Scott's management of the NRSC," Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told reporters, according to CNN.

Scott and McConnell butted heads in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms, with Scott pushing for Republicans to release an agenda that would show voters how Republicans planned to deliver for them if they won. On his own, Scott released a 12-point plan that President Joe Biden repeatedly bashed during speeches.

Many Republicans distanced themselves from the plan, and McConnell has blamed "candidate quality" as a factor in why the party lost the majority on Election Day. Scott called the GOP results a "complete disappointment."

Earlier this month during an interview with Fox News host Martha McCallum, Scott denied rumors spread by Trump that Scott "hates" McConnell.

"I don't dislike anybody. I mean, I have my beliefs about, you know, what I'd like to accomplish up here, but I don't dislike people," the senator responded with a chuckle.

Republicans have the opportunity to gain some leverage if they win the Georgia runoff. Such an outcome would result in a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break the tie in favor of Democrats during voting.

McConnell told reporters on Wednesday that he and Senate Minority Whip John Thune addressed complaints during a Wednesday morning huddle from rank-and-file members who felt left out of day-to-day deliberations.

"Any five of us can call a caucus to discuss any particular issue. So we acquainted our members with the tools they have," McConnell told reporters at the US Capitol, adding, "I think that'll be used more often. I certainly welcome it."

When pressed by reporters about whether he would be fine-tuning his management style to show the 10 defectors that he'd gotten their message loud and clear, McConnell pushed back.

"There's nothing to negotiate," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
×