The group led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz issued this call during a Feb. 6 press conference. Cruz was joined by six other lawmakers – Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Ohio Sen JD Vance, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall and Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt. Cruz expressed frustration with the negotiations over a supplemental funding bill that tied U.S. border security to the fund for Ukraine.
The Texas lawmaker responded in the affirmative when asked by reporters if it was high time for McConnell to go. "I think it is; I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and should advance the priorities of Republicans," he said. Cruz added that his fellow GOP senators "also supported the leadership challenge."
According to Cruz, a strong opponent of the Senate minority leader since 2013, Republicans faced losses in the "very disappointing" 2022 midterm elections. At this point, he called on his GOP colleagues to elect a new leader.
"We lost a seat in the Senate and we barely got a majority in the House [of Representatives]. I stood up and said – in any ordinary organization, when you're faced with failure; if you're running a business and you lose $50 million, you don't just say, 'Hey, everything's great; let's keep doing it.' No, you sit down and say, 'What are we doing wrong?'"
Cruz then turned to McConnell following the 2022 midterms, expressing frustration that Republicans were voting alongside Democrats on certain issues in 2017 and 2018.
"[I asked:] "What are we willing to fight on? What are you willing to fight on? Is there anything you're willing to draw a line in the sand and say, 'We will fight?'" Cruz remarked. "And he refused to answer that question."
GOP senators: Bipartisan border bill is DEAD
Vance, who is serving his first term as senator for the Buckeye State, echoed his criticisms of the Kentucky senator. "I think all of us has made this argument: The leadership really screwed this up," he said.
McConnell had earlier announced that the $118 billion supplemental spending bill – which includes funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – is dead in the upper chamber. "We have no real chance to make a law," the Senate minority leader said.
"The Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to begin a debate on the bill on [Feb. 14]," according to the Epoch Times. "A minimum of 60 senators is required for the vote to succeed, but Republicans are lining up to block the deal."
"We supported a negotiation to bring commonsense border security to this country. We did not agree to a border fig leaf to send another $61 billion to Ukraine," said Vance. The bill earmarks more than $60 billion to Kyiv, while a measly $20 billion is allocated to secure the southern border. (Related: Biden agrees to a deal that allows the border to be SHUT DOWN when Texas gets overwhelmed – But why wait? Shut it down now!)
"Certainly on the Ukraine question, I think [the GOP] leadership is massively out of touch with Republican voters. We are not as a Republican Party behind unlimited, unaccounted-for aid to Ukraine without any goals in mind."
According to the Ohio senator, McConnell should have "walked away" from negotiations with Democrats over the border agreement before getting to this point. Vance ferociously rejected the notion that GOP lawmakers would support whatever deal was reached. This idea, he claimed, was being put forward by GOP leaders.
"I think we can all agree that Cruz is not a fan," quipped McConnell when asked about the Texas senator's comment. The Senate minority leader had been criticized by former President Donald Trump as a "Republican in name only" (RINO). The Epoch Times contacted the senator's office for comment but received no reply as of press time.
Head over to VoteRepublican.news for more stories about GOP leaders.
Watch Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) react to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's call for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign on Fox Business below.
This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
China Mitch: McConnell has family ties to Bank of China, top Chinese shipping firm.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.
