McConnell tests the strengths and limits of his power opposing a trio of Trump's Cabinet nominees

WASHINGTON (AP) — No longer in charge, Sen. Mitch McConnell has been speaking his mind, the long-serving GOP leader rejecting President Donald Trump’s more high-profile Cabinet nominees — alone at times, among the Republicans, casting his no votes.

When it came to Pete Hegseth, now the defense secretary, who faced allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive behavior toward women, McConnell said the combat veteran had “failed, as yet, to demonstrate” he was ready for the job.

The “desire to be a change agent is not enough,” McConnell said.

On Tulsi Gabbard, who was sworn in this week as director of national intelligence, he said she has displayed “a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” citing in particular her views toward Russia, China and the security breach by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

And as Senate Republicans confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, McConnell, a survivor of childhood polio who used a wheelchair during the vote, opposed.

“A record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts,” the Kentucky senator said.

This is McConnell unplugged, three weeks into the Trump administration, and his new role as no longer the Senate GOP leader but one of 100 senators. It is testing the strength, but also the limits, of his influence on the institution, where he has been a monumental presence for nearly 40 years.

McConnell is far from an anti-Trump Republican and hardly the face of the GOP opposition to the White House. He has voted to confirm Trump’s other nominees and said he expects to support Trump's agenda.

But his opposition to the trio of Trump's most controversial nominees stands out. Taken together, McConnell's votes against Hegseth, Gabbard and RFK Jr. provide a window into the type of leader he intends to be outside the stately leadership office. And it shows the shifts in his power, as few other Republicans joined him, leaving him often on his own, with Democrats, unable to stop Trump's choices.

“McConnell’s votes on the Trump nominees reflect, at least in part, the fact that he is more free to vote in accord with personal preferences than he was when he was responsible for serving as the leader and voice for Senate Republicans,” said Frances Lee, a professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton.

Just two other Republicans, the independent-minded Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, also voted against Hegseth.

“Now that he is no longer in leadership, Sen. McConnell enjoys more freedom to simply exercise his own individual judgment and personal discretion,” Lee said.

Trump lashed out after the latest votes, calling McConnell “bitter” and “not equipped mentally” during a lengthy rant in the Oval Office late Thursday, after Kennedy was sworn into office.

“I feel sorry for Mitch,” the Republican president said.

“He votes against almost everything now. He’s a, you know, very bitter guy,” Trump said of McConnell, who had been a crucial partner as the Senate majority leader during Trump's first term.

Together, Trump and McConnell passed shared priorities, notably the 2017 GOP tax bill, but the two also clashed — the president calling the senator “Old Crow,” which McConnell turned into a badge of honor — and had a very public falling out after the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. McConnell called Trump “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection by a mob of his supporters at the Capitol but ultimately endorsed Trump's reelection bid.

Trump did not appear Thursday to understand that McConnell had polio as a child, a factor as he weighed Kennedy's nomination.

“He’s lost his power,” Trump said. “It’s one of those things.”

When he announced he was stepping down as GOP leader, McConnell said he would finish his Senate term, which expires after the 2026 election. It’s unclear if he will run again.

To be sure, McConnell is far from marginalized. He commands prime positions as chairman of the influential Rules Committee as well as the chairman of the Appropriation Committee’s subcommittee on defense, where he has signaled he intends to make his mark shoring up the nation’s military assets and assuring U.S. leadership on the global stage.

“I expect to support most of what this administration is trying to accomplish,” McConnell said during a recent interview on CBS' “60 Minutes.”

The senator still faces polio’s lingering effects, particularly in his left leg. McConnell fell twice recently, on the steps from the Senate chamber, where he was swiftly caught and steadied by two GOP colleagues, and a short time later in the private GOP lunchroom. He sometimes uses a wheelchair as he did this week as a precaution.

Other senators are watching and weighing the turn of events.

“He seems to be liberated, and I think he’s voting his conscience,” said Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat.

Blumenthal said while other Republicans are “in a state of trembling in fear” over primary threats if they don’t fall in line with Trump’s agenda, particularly from billionaire Trump aide Elon Musk’s political group, McConnell is not among them.

“Whatever his motivation, he is certainly demonstrating that courage and conscience still matter,” he said.

New Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said, “The great part about being a senator is that you get to decide what’s important to you, what your priorities are, and he should represent the people who elected him.”

McConnell’s critics have also taken notice. Nate Morris, a businessman in Kentucky, said this week he is considering a Senate run in 2026.

“I think President Trump needs less of these weak, career politicians running for office and more outside businessmen who are going to fight for his America First agenda,” Morris posted on social media this week.

Citing McConnell’s opposition to Hegseth, Morris said McConnell "turned his back on President Trump.”

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Associated Press writers Matt Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this story.