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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

McConnell's legacy is grim - he fought campaign finance reform, stonewalled Supreme court nominees - but what stands out most? More than any single person, he had the chance to end Trump but chose not to do so, even as he understood the risk Trump posed. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/jan-6-and-...

McConnell laid the blame for Jan. 6 squarely at the feet of Trump. In private, he said things like: “If this isn’t impeachable, I don’t know what is” and indicated he expected bipartisan support for a vote to convict Trump. In the Senate, McConnell publicly excoriated Trump:

There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day…The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.

And yet…McConnell refused to vote to convict. Seven of his colleagues did, and with McConnell’s leadership, more would have done so, potentially enough to get to the supermajority needed. With conviction, the Senate could have also taken the vote to block Trump from running again. Doing so would have ended Trump as a political power. McConnell was clearly considering this option. In an oral history interview at the time the House was impeaching Trump, McConnell said

But apparently you can impeach somebody after they leave office, and if that happens, there’s a second vote in the Senate, which only has to pass by a simple majority, that prevents that person from seeking office again. So he could not only be impeached, but also eliminated from the possibility of a comeback for this office. So it is significant.

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Mrs. Fairfax @alisondeluca.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

He managed to screw us over one last time before retirement. #ByeMitch

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