Mitch McConnell Vows To Stay In The Senate To Fight 'Isolationist' Republicans Who Don't Want To Fund Ukraine

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined WHAS's Terry Meiners to outline his future in Congress' upper chamber as he prepares to hand over the reins of the GOP leadership to a successor and then serve the rest of his six-year term. During the radio interview, McConnell explained that he would continue to push for aid for Ukraine despite several prominent Republicans, including fellow Kentuckian Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), being against additional aid for the war-torn country.

When asked about what is his top priority when he wakes up every morning, McConnell explained that he is focused on rebutting the "isolationist" senators in the caucus. "Well, first, let me just say, I have served longer as leader than anyone in American history - 18 years. So, I finally thought it was time to go in a different direction, but I'm not leaving the Senate. I'm particularly involved in actually fighting back against the isolationist movement in my own party. And some in the other as well. And the symbol of that lately is: Are we going to help Ukraine or not? I think it's extremely important that we do that. I'm not a particular fan of the Biden administration, particularly the decision to run out of Afghanistan, which is like sending a green light," McConnell said. "I've got this sort of on my mind for the next couple of years as something I'm going to focus on."

When asked about the growing sentiment amongst GOP senators against additional Ukraine aid, McConnell said that more and more of his Senate colleagues are unwilling to send billions of more dollars to fund Ukraine's defense against Russia. "What's made it more troublesome is, it seems to me, others are heading in that direction, making arguments that are easily refuted," McConnell told the radio host. "We're not losing any of our troops; the Ukrainians are the ones fighting. If the Russians take Ukraine, some NATO country would be next, and then we will be right in the middle of it."

The recent $95 billion foreign aid bill that passed through the Senate was unable to secure majority support from Republican senators; however, it successfully passed through the upper chamber thanks to Democrat support. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has so far refused to bring the foreign aid bill up for a vote, given that a majority of House Republicans do not support sending billions of more tax dollars to the Eastern European nation.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, Sen. McConnell announced he would resign from his position as Senate Republican Leader later this year. The 82-year-old senator from Kentucky, who has been in office since 1985, is expected to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2027. Several members of McConnell's leadership team have announced their interest in replacing McConnell after he resigns in November, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

Listen to McConnell's remarks below:

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