While a chunk of the Republican Party stays tethered to Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is standing firm against his GOP colleagues by touting the importance of the January 6 House select committee. During an interview on Thursday, McConnell condemned the assault on the U.S. Capitol building following Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally and praised the investigation into the MAGA coup, despite initially calling the committee “slanted and unbalanced.”
“It was a horrendous event and I think what they are seeking to find out is something the public needs to know,” McConnell told Spectrum News.
👀 On J6 Committee: “It will be interesting to see what facts they find .. We’re all going to be watching it. It was a horrendous event .. I think that what they’re seeking to find out is something the public needs to know.” pic.twitter.com/X3a7Mj7xVe
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 17, 2021
McConnell’s stance puts him at odds with his counterpart in the House, Kevin McCarthy, who has shown intense loyalty to Trump and denounced the select committee investigation. However, McConnell’s position shouldn’t come as a total surprise. In October, it was revealed that McConnell and fellow Republican Senator Tom Cotton quietly worked behind the scenes to stop Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. While the two weren’t able to prevent the January 6 rally from turning to violence, they were instrumental in convincing fellow Republicans to pull back from derailing the certification process.
Also in the mix is a considerable amount of animosity between Trump and McConnell as the former president has routinely bashed the Senate Minority Leader for not being loyal enough. In a recent interview with My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, Trump called McConnell an “old crow” and a “disaster” before blasting Mike Pence for certifying the election.