Vance Lashes Out At GOP Senator Who Came Out Against Trump Nominee
Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Sen. Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, marking a rare and public attack on the former Senate Republican leader for opposing the confirmation of a major Pentagon nominee.
The clash ignited after McConnell stood alone among Republicans in voting against Elbridge Colby, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead defense policy at the Department of Defense.
“Make no mistake: America will not be made great again by those who are content to manage our decline,” McConnell said in a statement that quickly made rounds online.
Vance didn’t hold back, calling out the longtime Kentucky senator in a fiery post on X. “Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen,” he wrote.
Conservative allies swiftly backed Vance, expressing growing frustration with McConnell’s ongoing tensions with Trump and his base.
Kentucky entrepreneur Nate Morris posted, “Elbridge Colby is one of the brightest foreign policy minds in the GOP and it’s pathetic watching Mitch McConnell continue to stand with Dems to sabotage President Trump.” Morris added that McConnell’s successor should mark “a clean break” from the senator, declaring, “Time for a change!”
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) chimed in under Vance’s post: “Glad things are changing.”
Breitbart News joined the fray, referring to McConnell as “China-linked Senator Mitch McConnell” in a widely shared post on X. Conservative commentator David Hardin went even further, writing in all caps, “MITCH MCCONNELL IS A TRAITOR !!”
Despite McConnell’s opposition, Colby was confirmed by the Senate in a 54-45 vote, mostly along party lines. Democrats largely voted against the nominee, seemingly out of continued resistance to Trump’s influence.
In a detailed statement, McConnell warned Colby’s appointment could “do irreparable damage to the system of alliances and partnerships” at the Pentagon, though he provided little in the way of supporting details.
He insisted, “As I have expressed repeatedly, I remain committed to supporting national security nominees whose records and views make them assets, not liabilities, in the restoration of U.S. hard power.”
Colby, known for his hawkish stance on China, has advocated shifting American military focus from Europe and the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific, arguing that Beijing poses the greatest long-term threat. It remains unclear why McConnell would oppose such a strategic shift, particularly given the Pentagon's decade-long concern over China’s military rise.
Adding fuel to the fire, McConnell criticized Trump’s approach to the Ukraine conflict, implying that the former president's refusal to lay sole blame on Russia demonstrated a “gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage.”
In a statement marking the war’s third anniversary, McConnell placed full responsibility on Vladimir Putin for the ongoing “human catastrophe” in Ukraine, warning that even if Kyiv surrendered, “Putin’s aims would not stop with Kyiv.”
“Mistaking this fact is as embarrassing as it is costly,” he declared.
He also denounced the Biden administration’s “shameful hesitation and half-measures” in dealing with Moscow’s aggression.
Though McConnell didn’t directly name Trump, he issued a broader rebuke of those unwilling to recognize Russia’s role as the clear aggressor. “Refusing to acknowledge Russia as the undeniable and unprovoked aggressor is more than an unseemly moral equivalency — it reflects a gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage,” he repeated.
As chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, McConnell’s comments came shortly after Trump suggested that Ukraine had provoked the war and labeled President Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator without elections.”
“America is right to seek an end to this war,” McConnell said, “but an end that fails to constrain Russian ambition, ensure Ukrainian sovereignty, or strengthen American credibility with both allies and adversaries is no end at all.”