Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump are saying it’s time for the GOP to have new leadership in the upper chamber following concern over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health.
Last week, McConnell froze during a leadership press briefing and had to have colleagues lead him away from the podium. While the Kentucky Republican insisted he was fine when asked about the incident later, many others have expressed concern given the 81-year-old lawmaker has fallen multiple times this year.
“What I am saying about Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, all of them: know when to walk away. We have huge issues that need new solutions,” Haley told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan.
.@NikkiHaley says Sen. Mitch McConnell has "been a great" Republican leader, but tells @margbrennan, "We've got to have a new generation."
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 30, 2023
"What I am saying about Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, all of them: know when to walk away," Haley adds. pic.twitter.com/VMC7ZwIkHN
“We’ve got to stop electing people because we like them and they’ve been there a long time…You need to have term limits, because we need new ideas, new solutions,” Haley continued. “We’ve got to have a new generation.”
Trump, meanwhile, called McConnell’s health issues “sad,” but said “we have to have” a new leader.
“We have some people in the Senate that are fantastic and would be great at that position,” he told Breitbart.
While some anonymous Republican senators told Politico if McConnell’s health further “deteriorates,” there could be “leadership jostling at some point,” others, like Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, stressed McConnell would “know when it’s time.”
“He’s not going to put our caucus in harm’s way,” Tuberville noted. “If he didn’t think he can do it, I’m sure he’ll make that decision.”
A spokesperson for McConnell told Politico the Republican “plans to serve his full term in the job they overwhelmingly elected him to do.”