McConnell holds the cards in spending fight
by Alexander Bolton - 11/29/22 6:00 AM ET
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is calculating whether he wants to strike a deal with Democrats on a year-end spending package before Republicans take control of the House in January.
The stakes are high for McConnell, who faces regular attacks from former President Trump and earlier this month survived the toughest challenge to his leadership of the Senate GOP after a bruising battle with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.).
McConnell signaled to colleagues before the election that he favored passing an omnibus spending package before the end of the year, but that was before Senate Republicans fell short of expectations on Election Day, fueling conservative calls for new GOP leadership.
Senate Republican sources say McConnell will want to hear from fellow GOP senators at lunch meetings this week before deciding whether to agree to an omnibus spending package, which would likely include tens of billions of dollars in military and economic aid for Ukraine — a top McConnell priority.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said there’s going to be a debate within the GOP conference this week over spending strategy and pointed out there are two factions, one favoring a deal with Democrats and another calling for a freeze on spending until Republicans take over the House.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/3753645-mcconnell-holds-the-cards-in-spending-fight/
