Trump Rips ‘Absolute Loser’ Mitch McConnell For Supporting Proposal McConnell Does Not Support

Former President Donald Trump slammed Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Thursday, declaring the Kentucky Republican supports a bill he in fact does not support.

Trump released a statement saying McConnell is in favor of Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) permitting reform proposal, which was part of the deal the West Virginia Democrat struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), President Joe Biden, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) last month in order to get the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act passed.

Trump wrote:

Mitch McConnell is giving the Democrats everything they want. He is their lapdog! He didn’t stop trillions of dollars in spending by refusing to use the Debt Ceiling as a negotiating tool. He gave it up for nothing. Now he wants to give Manchin the thing he wanted in order to destroy America, and even the People of West Virginia. How about his tax on coal? The Republican Senate must do something about this absolute Loser, Mitch McConnell, who folds every time against the Democrats—and he’s only getting worse!

Earlier this week, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced separate legislation to overhaul the permitting process for energy projects, which McConnell co-sponsored.

“The West Virginia Republican also framed her separate introduction of a bill as in response to the lack of public text from Manchin, who has thus far released a summary of the proposal,” noted the Hill.

So, while Senate Republicans work to disconnect permitting reform from any stopgap funding bill, McConnell is certainly not in favor of giving Manchin “the thing he wanted.” Instead, McConnell and 37 other Senate Republicans are putting forth their own proposal on the same issue.

Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman offered a succinct take on Trump’s statement:

Trump has issued a statement on McConnell and the permitting bill.

McConnell is against the permitting bill.

Trump has issued a statement on McConnell and the permitting bill.

McConnell is against the permitting bill. pic.twitter.com/2OcGZvVnID

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 15, 2022