Mitch McConnell Quotes (1942-)

Politician, Leader

About Mitch McConnell

Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as Senate Minority Leader since 2021 and as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021, and as Minority Leader from 2007 to 2015.

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“Think of me as the Grim Reaper.”
“There was no involvement whatsoever.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful”
“Breaking the rules to change the rules is un-American.”
“Impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice.”
Mitch McConnell
“African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people.”
Mitch McConnell
“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Mitch McConnell
“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
“You're more likely to see Elvis again than to see this bill pass the Senate.”
“The pathway our Democratic colleagues have accepted will spare the American people any near-term crisis ”
“Nobody is happy about losing lives but, remember, these are not draftees. These are full-time professional soldiers.”
Mitch McConnell
“The Senate is moving toward the plan I laid out last night to spare the American people from an unprecedented crisis.”
“In 2003, 2005 and 2006, Mr. President, you joined Senate Democrats in opposing debt limit increases and made Republicans do it ourselves.”
Mitch McConnell
“One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.'”
Mitch McConnell
“All nine Justices should tune out the bad-faith noise and feel totally free to do their jobs, following the facts and the law where they lead.”
“We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”
“Apparently there’s yet a new standard now to not confirm a Supreme Court nominee at all. I think that’s something the American people simply will not tolerate.”
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
Mitch McConnell
“I can’t imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame duck session, a nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association”
“Our colleagues have plenty of time to get it done before the earliest projected deadline. There would be the potential for time agreements to wrap it up well before any danger”
“I just had an opportunity to speak with President Trump, and he's prepared to sign the bill,
..
He will also be signing a national emergency declaration at the same time.”
Mitch McConnell
“With regard to White House officials, it will be up to the President to decide frankly whether and when and under what circumstances members of his [own White House staff] testify.”
Mitch McConnell
“Former President Trump's actions that preceded the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”
“This lawless action should be investigated and punished as fully as possible. The Chief Justice must get to the bottom of it and the Department of Justice must pursue criminal charges if applicable.”
Mitch McConnell

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Mitch McConnell on Supreme Court of the United States 2 quotes

“The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination. History and precedent make that perfectly clear.”
Mitch McConnell
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Mitch McConnell on John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act

“It touches every state, features the input of a wide coalition of our colleagues, and has earned the support of a broad, diverse coalition of many advocates for public lands, economic development and conservation.”

Mitch McConnell on Impeachment of Donald Trump

“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on 2020 United States presidential election

“Six weeks ago, Americans voted in this year’s general election. The legal and constitutional processes have continued to play out. Yesterday, electors met in all 50 states. So, as of this morning, our country officially has a President-elect and a Vice President-elect. Many millions of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result. But our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January the 20th. The Electoral College has spoken. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The President-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He has devoted himself to public service for many years. I also congratulate the Vice President-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President-elect for the first time. I look forward to finishing out the next 36 days strong with President Trump. Our nation needs us to add another bipartisan chapter to this record of achievement.”
Mitch McConnell

What Mitch McConnell Said About Others

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Mitch McConnell on John McCain 6 quotes

“Generation after generation of Americans will hear about the cocky pilot who barely scraped through Annapolis but then defended our Nation in the skies, witness to our highest values even through terrible torture, captured the country's imagination through the national campaigns that spotlighted many of our highest values, and became so integral to the U.S. Senate, where our Nation airs and advances its great debates. America will miss her devoted son, her stalwart champion, her elder statesman. We will miss one of the very finest gentlemen with whom I have had the honor to serve, but we will not forget him. I consider it our privilege to return some small share of the love John poured out for this country.”
Mitch McConnell
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Mitch McConnell on Donald Trump 2 quotes

“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people.”
Mitch McConnell
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Mitch McConnell on Elizabeth Warren

“She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Lisa Murkowski

“It's important for Lisa to be reelected. She's one of the few sort of moderates in the middle of the Senate.”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Joe Biden

“Attacking a core American institution like the Supreme Court from the world stage is below the dignity of the President”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Merrick Garland

“President Obama and his allies may now try to pretend this disagreement is about a person. The decision the Senate announced weeks ago remains about a principle, not a person.”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Ted Kennedy

“It is with great sadness that Elaine and I note the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, one of the giants of American political life, a longtime Senate colleague, and a friend. No one could have known the man without admiring the passion and vigor he poured into a truly momentous life. We send our deepest expressions of sympathy to Vicki, his children, and the entire Kennedy family.”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Jimmy Carter

“Democrats need to stop deflecting attention from their own complicity in our nation's over-dependence on foreign oil. They need to stop paying lip service to the need for domestic exploration while quietly supporting efforts to suppress it. They need to end an approach that hasn't changed since the Carter Administration. Just like Carter, they're more interested in using this crisis as an excuse to push for higher taxes than they are at solving the problem itself. And just like Carter, they're underestimating the frustration of the American people. And the nation continues to suffer for it -- in lost jobs, in lost independence, and in lost opportunity and growth. I've focused on gas prices in particular because that's what everyday Americans are concerned about most right now, and because in this particular area, the Obama administration has taken the Carter playbook to new heights.”
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Susan Collins

“Madam President, January 22, 1997, Senator Collins cast her first roll call vote for Madeleine Albright to be Secretary of State. From that moment on, she has not missed one single, solitary vote; zero sick days, zero scheduling conflicts. Whether we were voting on war or peace, historic legislation, or the most routine and uncontroversial bills and nominations, the Senator has made sure that Maine got its say every single time. So here is some perspective. The longest consecutive games streak in Major League Baseball famously belonged to Cal Ripken, Jr. Well, our colleague from Caribou has lapped him three times and counting. And, by the way, the Iron Horse didn't have to plan around weekly air travel in and out of New England, all winter, every winter. Anybody who knows Senator Collins knows this moment is not really about a round number; it is about the approach which the number happens to reflect. Our colleague is diligent. She is devoted. Her level of preparation is unparalleled. She holds herself to the highest standards, and she delivers. It is in her blood. Both of our colleague's parents served separate terms as mayor of Caribou. But the Senator also draws inspiration from outside the gene pool. She rightly idolizes her predecessor from Maine, the legendary Margaret Chase Smith, but even Senator Smith's own impressive voting streak topped out just shy of 3,000. I am just sorry that today's milestone moment couldn't present our colleague with a challenge worthy of her skills. Lucky number 8,000 didn't even require a sprained ankle or a hasty exit from a departing airplane. So congratulations to our colleague on this moment and all that it represents.”
Mitch McConnell

Quotes About Mitch McConnell

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Kathy Barnette on Mitch McConnell

“I believe it's time to get elected officials in office who will put AMERICA FIRST... and that's what I will do!”
Mitch McConnell

Jamelle Bouie on Mitch McConnell

“not shocking but still striking to see mcconnell openly declare that we must deny voting representation to americans in DC and deny puerto ricans a chance to choose their future because republicans don't want to have to compete for their votes”
Mitch McConnell

Chris Cillizza on Mitch McConnell 2 quotes

“Why was McConnell so mad? Well, at least part of that ire was playacting. McConnell wants to be as outraged as possible about the possibility of fiddling with the filibuster to send a signal to on-the-fence Democrats about what he believes the consequences would be of changing the rules. McConnell also could well be sending up a flare for former President Donald Trump, who has relentlessly attacked the Republican leader in recent months. See, I can attack Biden too! — and all that. But I don't think politics alone explains just how vociferous McConnell was in his critique of Biden. It felt more personal — and my educated guess is that the Kentucky Republican thought of himself and Biden as two similar souls when it comes to the Senate. Sure, they disagreed on most issues when they served together, but they both found common cause on the sanctity of the filibuster.”
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Christopher R. Browning on Mitch McConnell

“If the US has someone whom historians will look back on as the gravedigger of American democracy, it is Mitch McConnell.”

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Mitch McConnell 2 quotes

“Yesterday, when asked about reparations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a familiar reply: America should not be held liable for something that happened 150 years ago, since none of us currently alive are responsible... As historian Ed Baptist has written, enslavement, quote, “shaped every crucial aspect of the economy and politics” of America, so that by 1836 more than $600 million, or almost half of the economic activity in the United States, derived directly or indirectly from the cotton produced by the million-odd slaves. By the time the enslaved were emancipated, they comprised the largest single asset in America—$3 billion in 1860 dollars, more than all the other assets in the country combined.The method of cultivating this asset was neither gentle cajoling nor persuasion, but torture, rape and child trafficking. Enslavement reigned for 250 years on these shores. When it ended, this country could have extended its hallowed principles—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—to all, regardless of color. But America had other principles in mind. And so, for a century after the Civil War, black people were subjected to a relentless campaign of terror, a campaign that extended well into the lifetime of Majority Leader McConnell.It is tempting to divorce this modern campaign of terror, of plunder, from enslavement. But the logic of enslavement, of white supremacy, respects no such borders, and the god of bondage was lustful and begat many heirs—coup d’états and convict leasing. vagrancy laws and debt peonage, redlining and racist GI bills, poll taxes and state-sponsored terrorism.”
Mitch McConnell
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Orrin Hatch on Mitch McConnell 3 quotes

“Mr. President. I rise today to honor my good friend Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader whose strong leadership, sterling example and wise counsel have earned him an honored position within the ranks of the extraordinary public servants who now serve or have served in the U.S. Senate. Senator McConnell is the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the U.S. Senate, the first being Senator Alben Barkley, who led Senate Democrats from 1937 to 1949. Mitch is now the longest-serving Republican Senator in Kentucky history, eclipsing the previous record held by the legendary Senator John Sherman Cooper. Today, Senator McConnell has been serving as a U.S. Senator for almost a quarter century. During that time, four U.S. Presidents, scores of colleagues, and several crises have come and gone, but Mitch has carried on with courage, boldness and steadfastness. He has weathered the most turbulent political seas and has always been a calming influence on his Senate colleagues while at the helm.”
Mitch McConnell
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Chris Hedges on Mitch McConnell

“Mitch McConnell and the other elites really have not figured out what is happening in this moment of great crisis and upheaval. What we are seeing now in America is about so much more than people just being sick of the police murdering innocent people. It is a generational and class revolt.”
Mitch McConnell

Naomi Klein on Mitch McConnell

“Drilling without thinking has of course been Republican Party policy since May 2008. When gas prices soared to unprecedented heights, the conservative leader Newt Gingrich unveiled the slogan "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less," with an emphasis on the now. The wildly popular campaign was a cry against caution, against study, against measured action. In Gingrich's telling, drilling at home wherever the oil and gas might be-locked in Rocky Mountain shale, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and deep offshore-was a surefire way to lower the price at the pump, create jobs, and kick Arab ass all at once. In the face of this triple win, caring about the environment was for sissies: as Senator Mitch McConnell put it, "in Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana and Texas, they think oil rigs are pretty."”
Mitch McConnell

Barack Obama on Mitch McConnell

“Short, owlish, with a smooth Kentucky accent, McConnell seemed an unlikely Republican leader. He showed no aptitude for schmoozing, backslapping, or rousing oratory. As far as anyone could tell, he had no close friends even in his own caucus, nor did he appear to have any strong convictions beyond an almost religious opposition to any version of campaign finance reform. Joe told me of one run-in he'd had on the Senate floor after the Republican leader blocked a bill Joe was sponsoring; when Joe tried to explain the bill's merits, McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said, "You must be under the mistaken impression that I care." But what McConnell lacked in charisma or interest in policy he more than made up for in discipline, shrewdness, and shamelessness- all of which he employed in the single-minded and dispassionate pursuit of power.”
Mitch McConnell

Dean Obeidallah on Mitch McConnell

“To me, in political terms, McConnell is actually far worse than the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper only comes once in our lifetimes -- at the moment of death. In contrast, McConnell has been killing legislation for years. Add to that, McConnell has now gone beyond killing bills to helping embolden Donald Trump's worst instincts. [...] There's no way to stop the actual "Grim Reaper." But, with McConnell, there's one way to retire him. He is up for re-election in November 2020. And before you dismiss the notion that McConnell could lose, keep in mind that a recent poll from McConnell's home state of Kentucky shows him with about a 33% favorable rating, while over 50% hold an unfavorable view. The people of Kentucky may just have had their fill of McConnell, who appears to take joy in killing legislation that will help our nation. Kentucky voters could retaliate and act as the "Grim Reaper" -- bringing McConnell's political career to an end.”
Mitch McConnell

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on Mitch McConnell

“In the Senate yesterday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of breaking their promise to confirm a number of presidential judicial nominations. To punish the Dems, McConnell used Senate rules to waste virtually the whole day having the Senate clerk read the bill under consideration, a global warming bill, aloud -- all 491 pages of it. Why? A Republican lobbyist leaked an internal GOP strategy memo to the Democrats (quote): "The GOP very much wants to have this fight, engage in it for a prolonged period, and then make it as difficult as possible to move off the bill." Why? (quote) "The focus is much more on making political points than in amending the bill, changing the baseline text for any future debate, or effecting policy." Making not policy but political points the goal of Mr. Bush's party: and you thought they weren't good at anything.”

About Mitch McConnell

Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as Senate Minority Leader since 2021 and as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021, and as Minority Leader from 2007 to 2015.