The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
NKY GOP calls for McConnell to resign
Censures senator for his support of Ukraine aid
COLD SPRING, Ky. — A Northern Kentucky Republican party called for the resignation of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the U.S. Senate and the state’s longest-serving senator.
The Campbell County Republican Committee also voted Tuesday night to censure McConnell because he supported a $95 billion foreign war aid bill for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel while not allocating money to secure the Mexico-U.S. border.
“I believe that there’s a time to speak up and say enough is enough. And when an elected official fails to work for their constituents, that’s the time to speak up,” said Jerry Gearding, vice chairman of the Campbell County Republican Committee.
He introduced the resolution, citing the country’s more than $34 trillion debt, millions of undocumented immigrants crossing the southern border and McConnell’s cooperation with “Democrats to undermine our national and fiscal security.”
A room of more than 20 Republicans voted in favor of the censure with about four of them against the move.
McConnell’s office had no immediate response.
Vote comes as Trump visits Cincinnati
The party’s action occurred on the eve of former President Donald Trump’s visit to the Cincinnati area Wednesday afternoon for a fundraiser. Trump has been one of McConnell’s harshest critics, repeatedly calling him an “old crow” and making racist attacks on his wife Elaine Chao, who had been Trump’s own transportation secretary.
Trump has been critical of U.S. financial support of Ukraine. Late last month, he stopped short of calling for
the GOP to reject the funding. He posted on the social media site Truth Social that while Ukraine’s victory is essential to U.S. security, European countries should be putting up more money to help Ukraine.
McConnell said the measure he supported was critical to protecting democracy and U.S. security interests in a world where U.S. allies are threatened by Russia, China and Hamas.
“We can wish for a world where the responsibilities of leadership don’t fall to us,” he said on the Senate floor. “Or we can act like we understand that they do.”
McConnell said Trump made passing an aid package for Ukraine “doubly challenging,” USA TODAY reported.
Trump is wildly popular throughout Kentucky, where voters supported his presidency in 2016 and 2020.
‘A thorn in the side’
The local Republican committee has been embroiled in controversy for more than a year, dragging its operations to a halt as members worked to oust its chairperson, who eventually resigned this spring.
In Campbell County, located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, the GOP meetings frequently erupted into chaos, shouting, and personal attacks during that time.
But the censure of McConnell was anything but controversial.
“He has not done the job that we want him to do or think he should be doing,” said party Chairman David Slater. “We have sent billions and billions of dollars to other countries to secure their borders, to fight their wars, and we have homeless veterans sleeping in boxes on the streets.”
Some members expressed concern the Republican Party of Kentucky could opt to not support the organization in the future, but they voted on the censure anyway.
“I think it’s important for more county parties to stand up and say, ‘We’ve had enough of our legislators not only at the federal level but at the state level, not working for us and working for the lobbyists,’” Gearding said.
Several GOP committees in Kentucky have gone against the statewide party in recent years to censure McConnell.
The Boone County Republican Party Committee in Northern Kentucky and the Jessamine County GOP, in central Kentucky, censured him two years ago for supporting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which federally implemented new gun restrictions.
In 2021, Nelson County Republicans censured McConnell after he blamed Trump for antagonizing rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, The Courier Journal reported.
Precinct Captain Arthur Kunath, 74, of Fort Thomas, told The Enquirer: “Mitch McConnell has been a thorn in the side of true conservatives in Kentucky because he has been for big government. And although he’s done some remarkable things in the state ... his whole program is for big government and I always feel like we’re being sold down the river to the Chinese interests.”