By Wonderwall.com Editors
1:49am PDT, Apr 8, 2025
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Mitch McConnell took aim at
Donald Trump's military policy during an interview with
The New York Times that debuted online on Saturday, April 5.
While discussing Trump's decision to fire National Security Agency director Timothy Haugh, the conservative senator from Kentucky griped, "If decades of experience in uniform isn't enough to lead the NSA but amateur isolationists can hold senior policy jobs at the Pentagon, then what exactly are the criteria for working on this administration's national security staff? I can't figure it out."
McConnell has specifically objected to Michael DiMino, whom Trump appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, and Andrew Byers, whom the president named deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia.
Keep reading for more on McConnell's schism from Trumpland…
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Mitch McConnell made a major move to shut down Donald Trump after the president unveiled new tariffs on April 2: According to
People magazine, he voted for Democratic Sen.
Tim Kaine's resolution to repeal the emergency declaration that allowed Trump to place tariffs on Canada. The measure passed 51-48 but is unlikely to pass in the Republican-held House.
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Mitch McConnell previously spoke out against the tariffs Donald Trump slapped on Mexico and Canada, writing in a February 12
Louisville Courier Journal op-ed, "Indeed, it's high time for America's closest neighbors to take the crisis at our border seriously. But no matter our best intentions, tariffs are bad policy. … Republicans ought to be clear-eyed about the full, unadulterated impact of tariffs as we work to restore sound fiscal policy to our government."
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"Preserving the long-term prosperity of American industry and workers requires working with our allies, not against them," Mitch McConnell wrote in a mid-February
Louisville Courier Journal op-ed speaking out against Donald Trump's tariffs.
"Trade wars with our partners hurt working people most. And the president has better tools to protect American workers without forcing our families and businesses to absorb higher costs," he added.
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Earlier this year, Mitch McConnell voted against confirming three major Donald Trump cabinet picks: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The two men were close allies during Trump's first presidency, but things between them soured following the
January 6 Capitol attack.
