Battle To Replace McConnell Heats Up After Unexpected Snag
President Donald J. Trump is moving to secure a reliable replacement for longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, whose repeated clashes with the White House have made him an obstacle to the America First agenda. But concerns are emerging inside Trump’s inner circle over whether a top contender can truly be trusted.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), who has represented Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District since 2013, is under scrutiny for his record of financial support to lawmakers who turned on Trump during the second impeachment saga. Barr’s leadership PAC sent donations on seven separate occasions to four House Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach the president in 2021, despite Trump urging his supporters to “get rid of them all.”
Barr, 51, did not join those defectors in the impeachment vote, but he did criticize Trump at the time as “irresponsible” and “not blameless.”
Now, Barr is locked in a three-way primary for McConnell’s Senate seat against two other Republicans: former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 39, and businessman Nate Morris, 44. With Trump holding unmatched influence in Kentucky — a state he carried by more than 30 points in 2024 — his endorsement will likely decide the race.
The donations have become a sticking point. In February 2021, Barr gave $2,500 to then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who later blasted Trump as “a cancer” before declining re-election. Barr also cut checks to John Katko of New York ($2,000), Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington ($3,000), and David Valadao of California ($10,000 in multiple installments). Only Valadao still holds office.
“Andy Barr didn’t just blame President Trump for the violence on [Jan. 6, 2021], he actively funded the Republicans who voted to impeach him — after the president had already made clear that he was going to target them in primaries,” said a longtime Trump adviser. “I can’t imagine a bigger slap in the face to the president than that.”
Another source close to the White House added: “Everyone in Trump’s circle views Barr as just another one of McConnell’s mentees, meaning you know he’s not going to be there for Trump when things get tough and it really matters.”
For Trump, loyalty has always been paramount — both in his Cabinet selections and in congressional allies. That principle may shape how he weighs this critical Senate endorsement.
Barr’s camp, however, insists he has consistently supported Trump. His spokesman, Alex Bellizzi, argued that Barr has made “hundreds of donations” to Republicans fighting the Biden agenda while noting that rivals carry their own baggage.
Bellizzi pointed out that Nate Morris donated $5,000 to Nikki Haley in May 2021, just weeks after Haley had publicly pledged not to run if Trump did. By 2023, she had broken that promise and formally entered the primary against Trump.
The spokesman also sought to discredit Daniel Cameron, who lost the 2023 Kentucky governor’s race to Democrat Andy Beshear despite Trump’s endorsement. “Daniel Cameron lost with President Trump’s endorsement in a state the president won by 30 points,” Bellizzi said.
Barr’s campaign also highlighted Morris’s record, noting that he had signed the CEO Diversity Pledge, backed ESG initiatives, and left a company that “lost $200 million in his final year as CEO by a company trading for pennies on the dollar on the stock exchange.”
The Kentucky primary is shaping up as a test of not only policy but loyalty — and for Trump, the question is whether Andy Barr’s past support of impeachment Republicans can ever be overlooked.