London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 28, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×