Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell softened his tone on Roy Moore on Sunday, bypassing an opportunity to reiterate his call for the Alabama Senate candidate to step aside and instead emphasizing that voters would make their own decisions next week.
Establishment Republicans have distanced themselves from Moore since the Washington Post reported four women were the subject of Moore’s romantic desires when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. Among them was one woman who was 14 when Moore groped her in his home, according to the report.
McConnell has called on Moore to drop out of the race and helped drive the decision to cut off funding to his campaign from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. But, given that the Moore revelations came out after it was too late to change the ballots and any write-in would be a long-shot, McConnell was left with few real options. On Sunday, he said the people of Alabama would be making the decision on Moore.
“Well, look, people in Alabama are going to decide a week from Tuesday who [to] send to the Senate. It’s up to them,” he said on “Face The Nation” Sunday after being asked what he made of a poll showing some voters are more likely to vote for Moore after McConnell called on him to drop out of the race.
“It’s been pretty robust campaign with lot of people weighing in. The president and I, of course, supported someone different earlier in the process. But in the end, voters of Alabama will make their choice.”
McConnell was later asked if he felt the voters’ determination on whether Moore should serve in the Senate should be the final judgment about the believability of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. That is similar to the argument the White House has made about the multiple women who have accused President Trump of sexual assault or harassment.
“Well, look, I’m concerned about the Senate, “ McConnell said. “And, we have two investigations going on right now, Sen. Franken and Sen. Menendez, and there might be another one depending on people who are in the Senate. And it will be up to the people of Alabama to make this decision and we’ll swear in whoever is elected and see where we are at that particular point.”
Last month, McConnell said “I believe the women” when calling for Moore to leave the race.
“I think he should step aside,” McConnell said at the event.
McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., both said they would like to see Moore be subject to an investigation after multiple women have claimed he either tried to date them or he groped them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Graham echoed McConnell and said an ethics investigation into the claims against Moore would be appropriate.
“The body can regulate itself at the end of the day when he comes to the senate if he does. I think an investigation ethics investigation would be smartest thing to do,” he said. “And we’ll see what the ethics committee decides as to whether they look at behavior before he came into the senate, does that matter, if they do, what did they find, we’ll see.”
The headline and first paragraph of this story has been changed to reflect that while McConnell took a softer tone on Sunday, his comments did not necessarily represent a reversal of his position.
