(Bloomberg) -- Senator Mitch McConnell set up potential clashes with Donald Trump and his isolationist allies over Ukraine and other foreign policy matters even as he congratulated the president-elect on reclaiming the White House.
The outgoing Republican leader, a defense hawk who has been one of the Senate’s most fervent supporters of Ukraine, said he’ll focus on defense and foreign policy as his party takes the Senate majority in January. He signaled his support for a defense buildup and called the current security environment “the most dangerous time since right before World War II.”
McConnell cited North Korea, China, Russia and Iran in his warnings but avoided addressing Trump’s stance on Ukraine. The incoming president has been critical of spending on the war and has promised to quickly negotiate an end to it.
Republicans have secured at least 52 seats in the Senate, with the potential to pick up a few more. The larger margin allows Trump to confirm controversial national security nominees even if they arouse slight opposition in his own party.
McConnell, however, remains a formidable force in the Senate despite his plan to give up his leadership post. He is particularly influential among more traditionally hawkish members of the party, and he could serve as a roadblock to Trump’s isolationist tendencies.
US adversaries “have one thing in common: that they hate us and they want to diminish our role in the world,” McConnell said. “It may seem old fashioned to some, but I’m still a Reagan Republican who thinks that America’s role in the world is absolutely indispensable.”
Still, McConnell was optimistic in his outlook as Republicans prepare to take control of at least two of the levers of power in Washington following Tuesday’s victories.
“It was a helluva good day,” he said.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.