Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is planning to devote much of his energy in the remaining months of his term as Republican leader, as well as the next few years of his term, to ensuring Ukraine is supported as its war with Russia rages on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018It may not be fashionable now, but I\u2019m a Ronald Reagan Republican: peace through strength,\u2019 the longtime Senate GOP leader said during a speech in Shelbyville, Kentucky, per local outlet the Kentucky Lantern.<\/p>\n
McConnell has been a proponent of continued support for Ukraine, even after members of his party began to push back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Mitch McConnell is a Reagan Republican through and through,\u2019 said Republican strategist Doug Heye. Therefore, its unsurprising that he is \u2018standing strong on those principles,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
But not everyone equates Ukraine support with republicanism in the image of former President Reagan. According to Republican strategist Matt Dole, \u2018Reagan republicanism, or any label that is historical in nature, is not driven by one issue or one vote.\u2019<\/p>\n
He posited that such labels have been used by some \u2018as a way to encourage people to their side.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t think a senator voting for or against aid to the Ukraine takes them closer or further away from the legacy of Ronald Reagan,\u2019 he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to a local radio station last week, McConnell said Ukraine and preventing Russia\u2019s advances would be \u2018the main part of my focus in the coming years.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said Ukraine\u2019s war presents \u2018a worldwide problem for democracies.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018McConnell understands the long game that Russia is playing,\u2019 explained Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, it\u2019s likely that McConnell \u2018really believes in the importance of standing up to Putin and preserving the integrity of Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty, and wants to have that as his \u2018last act.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, \u2018it would be a moment of statesmanship that would also help frame the way he is remembered\u2019 as McConnell and his generation pass the baton, Reeher said.<\/p>\n
McConnell said during his radio interview that Ukraine\u2019s fate is a global issue and that \u2018they need our leadership, and we need their partnership.\u2019<\/p>\n
He also decried the growing wave of \u2018isolationist\u2019 sentiment among his Republican colleagues. He acknowledged his fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as one of those perpetuating the movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s office was contacted by Fox News Digital but did not provide comment.<\/p>\n
\u2018A growing number of his colleagues are now looking at Ukraine through a populist outlook of how sending foreign aid abroad helps their constituents back home,\u2019 explained Bonjean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, McConnell\u2019s focus toward Ukraine may be rendered unsuccessful \u2018unless there is a concerted effort to make the connection between sending foreign aid to Ukraine and protecting American interests,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Without this, the leader\u2019s anti-isolationism campaign may \u2018be a losing fight over time.\u2019<\/p>\n
Dole also noted the leader\u2019s \u2018influence immediately waned upon his announcement that he intended to step down.\u2019 This, in part, will make it hard to unify the conference on \u2018an issue that they\u2019ve always disagreed about.\u2019<\/p>\n
McConnell revealed his decision to step down from the role of party leader in November after his term in the position ends. His stepping aside presents an opportunity for the Senate GOP to select a new leader and potentially chart a far different path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Kentucky Republican is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, having maintained the title since his election in 2007.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dole further disputed the idea that Republicans have shifted toward isolationism, instead suggesting that the divided stances on Ukraine aid represent \u2018discernment.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018McConnell has earned the right to try to convince the caucus of his position,\u2019 he said, but added, \u2018His last battle will be uphill.\u2019<\/p>\n
John Mark Hansen, the Charles L. Hutchinson distinguished service professor and interim chair for the department of political science at the University of Chicago, echoed that \u2018isolationism never really went away, particularly among the electorate.\u2019<\/p>\n
Instead, Hansen said, what has occurred is a Republican retreat from \u2018support for NATO and defense against Russian expansionism.\u2019 This is due to former President Trump\u2019s influence, he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something the base feels strongly about,\u2019 he said. Therefore, McConnell is in a better position \u2018to make a stand.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018He\u2019s not alone. Speaker [Mike] Johnson is clearly willing to take a risk in supporting aid for Ukraine,\u2019 Hansen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Isolationism may be en vogue right now, but peace through strength and not abandoning our allies are principles still shared among a lot of the Republican Party, including many of McConnell\u2019s conference colleagues,\u2019 Heye said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A $95 billion supplemental bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed the upper chamber in February with 70 votes in support. However, nearly all the 29 votes against the measure were Republicans, highlighting the divided conference.<\/p>\n
The Senate minority leader has called on the House to similarly pass the measure.<\/p>\n
McConnell\u2019s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n\n
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is planning to devote much of his energy in the remaining months of his term as Republican leader, as well as the next few years of his term, to ensuring Ukraine is supported as its war with Russia rages on.\u00a0 \u2018It may not be fashionable now, but I\u2019m a <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}