Mitch McConnell has pitted himself against Trump during the president's final days in office
John Haltiwanger
Wed, December 30, 2020, 4:22 PM CST
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has taken an uncharacteristic stance against President Donald Trump during his final weeks as commander-in-chief.
McConnell is leading the charge for the first successful veto override of Trump's presidency after the president vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Kentucky Republican is also doing eveything he can to derail a push for COVID-19 stimulus checks to be raised to $2000, which Trump has come out in support of in recent days.
McConnell is poised to win these battles but it could backfire and cost the GOP its majority in the Senate given the popularity of $2000 checks among voters, and the impending Georgia Senate runoff election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has generally been a steadfast ally of President Donald Trump, voting in line with the commander-in-chief the vast majority of the time and using his immense influence to push his GOP colleagues to do the same.
But in the final weeks of Trump's tenure, McConnell has pitted himself against the president on both the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and bigger direct payments for Americans ($2,000 checks) as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the country.
The lame duck battle between McConnell and Trump on stimulus checks has baffled Democrats, but they've welcomed the president's support for more money to go to struggling Americans.
"I never thought we'd live in this alternate reality where Democrats and President Trump are on the same team against Senator McConnell," Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois tweeted on Wednesday.
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