Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that he is “pulling” for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to become the next Speaker despite the two men disagreeing on many key issues including the passing of an omnibus bill that would fund Congress through 2023.
McConnell told reporters that he was “absolutely,” “pulling for Kevin,” when asked whether he supported the bid made by McCarthy for the speakership. These comments came after McCarthy heavily criticized Senate Republicans for choosing to negotiate an omnibus bill that would control spending until the end of the fiscal year.
McCarthy is currently struggling to find the 218 votes that he will need to gain in order to become the Speaker in the next Congress.
In an earlier interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity McCarthy had been critical of Senate Republicans who were willing to discuss or support the omnibus bill that had been brought to the Senate floor by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
McCarthy has said that it does not make sense for them to be discussing such a bill when the Republicans would be gaining control of the House in the next 21 days.
McConnell on the other hand has said that the omnibus bill is a big victory for the Republican party as there is an increase in funding for more defense than non defense programs. On Tuesday afternoon he said that “this omnibus bill that will be on the floor provides a real-dollar increase for the defense baseline and a real-dollar cut for the nondefense baseline if you exclude veterans.” This is important as previously the Democrats had been arguing for equal spending on defense and nondefense programs.
