Senator Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader of the United State Senate, has done harm to our Justice  System.  McConnell knows the complex Senate rules by heart and has used them to further Conservative Republican objectives whenever possible.  He has faithfully supported Trump through his years in office.

During the last years of the Obama administration , Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia , the leader of the Conservative wing of the High Court, died.   President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, Chief of the Washington D.C. Second Circuit Appeals Court to replace him.  This appointment was praised by Republicans as well as Democrats.  He is a middle of the road Justice , neither liberal nor conservative.

However,  Mitch McConnell said it was too close to the next Presidential Election to hold the customary interviews with the Senate and votes to confirm or deny the appointment.   Despite enormous criticism from the Obama administration and Democratic members of the Senate and Congress,  McConnell succeeded in keeping the seat vacant for over a year until the 2016 election took place.  This had never happened before!  Chief Justice John Roberts never commented upon McConnell blocking President Obama’s Constitutional  power  to  nominate a Justice to fill the vacancy.

During those months, The Supreme Court had to function with only eight members.  Although McConnell came under criticism from legal and government figures as well as presidential scholars,  he never budged from his position.   When Donald Trump was elected,  one of his first priorities was to nominate a conservative Republican, Neil Gorsuch, to the High Court.  McConnell guided him through confirmation to his seat on The Supreme Court.

On May ll,  in an interview with Lara Trump, the president’s daughter in law,  McConnell said, “Obama should have kept his mouth shut” referring to a leaked account of Obama’s private call to former members of his administration when he described Trump’s handling of the pandemic crisis as “an absolute chaotic disaster.”  McConnell added, “You had your shot—you were there for eight years. “  It is important to note that McConnell fought the Obama administration on immigration, health care, the environment and gun safety throughout the eight years.

McConnell has also tried to shift blame to Obama by saying his administration never left behind “any kind of game plan” for dealing with a pandemic.  In response, Ron Klain, who ran the Obama administration response to Ebola, said, “We literally left them a 69 page Pandemic Playbook that they ignored.  “

McConnell stood with Trump during the Impeachment trial in the Senate. He led the Republican senators who refused to allow witness testimony and voted to acquit him of all charges.  The Republicans have a slim majority , but it was enough to end the Trial with Trump’s Acquittal.

Mitch McConnell, up for re-election in November, is running against Amy, McGrath, a Marine fighter pilot and Mom.  The latest polls give him only a one point advantage and she appears to be gaining momentum.  If McConnell loses the election, Trump will have lost a very important ally.

…………………………………………Joyce S. Anderson