Gov. Chris Christie backed up Mike Pence’s statement that Donald Trump is wrong in his assertion that the former vice president had the power to overturn the results of the 2020 election. CNN anchor Kasie Hunt and political analyst David Gregory take a look at whether the Republican tide is turning against Trump. The Jan. 6, 20201, Capitol attack is putting a renewed spotlight on the differences between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The two men took opposite tacks this week in response to the Republican National Committee (RNC) censure resolution of Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), marking the latest instance in which they’ve parted ways over the past year.
McConnell and McCarthy just want to win and that may not be good for the county depending on who is running for President.
“Both are really quite strategic thinkers. … They are different personalities, but they are similar in their leadership in that regard,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who served in the House before joining the Senate, told The Hill. “Kevin is really a cheerleader. … Mitch is smart, cunning and calculating.”
McConnell is dry and boring and known for his strategic mind and dry humor but also for being quiet and never letting you know what he is thinking even with members of his own caucus about his thinking. Trying to ask McConnell a question around the halls of the Capitol will frequently get reporters radio silence.
McCarthy talks too much about popularity, is known for being talkative, and is closely in lockstep with what is driving conservative outlets and the party’s base.
The two are at different sides of the track McCarthy, at 57, has spent years climbing the House GOP ladder and is aiming to capture the Speaker’s gavel for the first time if Republicans recapture the House majority after making a failed bid in 2015.
McConnell, who turns 80, has led the Senate GOP caucus as both the majority and minority since 2007. He also set a record in 2018, becoming the longest-serving GOP leader.
The two leaders and their conferences, with the House closer to Trump, matter less now because Republicans are in the minority but could come into sharper focus in 2023 if they find themselves back in control of Congress.
“When you’re in the majority you’ve got to coordinate your agendas and try and line upvotes and everything,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said in an interview.
Cramer added, “It’s easier to be united in the minority. In the majority, you have much more responsibility.”
The two GOP leaders do coordinate.
They are more Allie than foe when Congress is in session, and a McConnell aide told The Hill that “staff is in frequent communication.” A McCarthy aide, while confirming the regular meetings between the two leaders, noted that there is also a weekly staff meeting.
But even as they keep each other in the loop — Much smarter than Democrats they keep the fighting in private and Democrats air their dirty laundry. That why we can’t get a big bill done,
McConnell broke with the RNC’s resolution where it described Jan. 6, when a mob of the former president’s supporters attacked the Capitol, as “normal political discourse,” describing the day as a “violent insurrection.”
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