Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks is pledging to vote against Mitch McConnell as the Senate’s top Republican, joining a small coalition of GOP Senate candidates who wish to boot the Kentucky senator from chamber leadership.
In a 90-second ad video released Sunday, Brooks told voters that if he were elected to the Senate, he would not vote for McConnell to maintain his position as the chamber’s GOP leader — an apparent attempt to win back the favor of former President Donald Trump, who threatened to revoke his endorsement of Brooks earlier this month. Instead, Brooks said he would “do everything in my power” to support a true conservative.
“Today, I unveil my pledge to America to fire Mitch McConnell. If elected to the Senate, I will not vote for Mitch McConnell for leader,” Brooks said. “America can’t afford a Senate leader who is a weak-kneed, debt junkie, open-border, RINO Republican and who, worse yet, sells out America for special interest group cash.”
MCCONNELL DISMISSES TRUMP CRITICISM, SAYING IT’S NO THREAT TO HIS LEADERSHIP ROLE
Brooks joins two other Senate candidates calling to oust McConnell, aligning themselves with Trump’s campaign to remove the Kentucky Republican from his top spot. The former president began urging Republican senators to remove McConnell from his post in the summer of 2021 amid a monthslong feud that began after the Senate minority leader recognized President Joe Biden’s electoral victory and dismissed claims of widespread voter fraud.
However, McConnell has dismissed Trump’s criticism, telling the Washington Examiner in February he was unconcerned with his threats of removal.
Brooks’s latest ad comes at a crucial point in his Senate bid as he attempts to cling to his endorsement from Trump. The Alabama representative has relied on the coveted endorsement for much of his campaign, but the former president has since considered switching his choice after Brooks urged his supporters last year to move on from the 2020 election.
That prompted Trump to have second thoughts, as he initially endorsed Brooks because of their shared view that the 2020 election was riddled with voter fraud.
“Mo Brooks is disappointing,” Trump told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview. “I’m disappointed that he gave an inarticulate answer, and I’ll have to find out what he means. If it meant what he sounded like, I would have no problem changing [my endorsement], because when you endorse somebody, you endorse somebody based on principle. If he changed that principle, I would have no problem doing that.”
Brooks again touted Trump’s endorsement in his latest ad, framing the midterm elections as a pivotal moment for the GOP.
“That’s the battle across America: McConnell versus Trump in a war for the heart and soul of the Republican Party,” Brooks said. “McConnell will do everything he can to defeat me because he’s determined to stop the MAGA movement and Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates for the U.S. Senate.”
Anti-McConnell sentiment has not gained much steam among Senate Republicans, but a handful of candidates have expressed support for booting him as the GOP leader.
Eric Greitens, a leading Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, was the first candidate to come out against McConnell in September 2021, expressing similar desires to transition the Republican Party into the “MAGA Party.” Although Trump has not offered an endorsement in the Missouri race, he has indicated Greitens is in the running, despite a history of sexual assault allegations and campaign finance scandals.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Another GOP candidate, Kelly Tshibaka, running against Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has also supported the removal of McConnell. In a statement last year, Tshibaka said the minority leader was too willing to compromise and make deals with Democrats.
In his ad, Brooks called on his two opponents, Katie Britt and Mike Durant, to join his pledge. The two have not said whether they would support McConnell as the Senate’s GOP leader.
The Washington Examiner reached out to McConnell’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
