Powerful political turtle Mitch McConnell resigns Lithuania closes two more border crossings with Belarus

Mitch McConnell is often called a turtle by American late-night comedians. This is due to his appearance – the senator from Kentucky has goiter – and his cautious behavior in all respects. Politically, however, this comparison is complete nonsense. Turtles are harmless animals. Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, was probably the most powerful politician in the Grand Old Party (GOP) of recent decades after Donald Trump, and he used this power cynically and ruthlessly.

McConnell, now 82, is not only one of the most experienced politicians in the US Congress – he has been in the Senate for 40 years – he is also one of the most ripped off. Like Nancy Pelosi, his perennial rival among Democrats, he knows which buttons to push on the highly complex political machine in Washington to achieve the desired outcome.

His masterpiece was the composition of the courts in general and the Supreme Court in particular. He was the Republican majority leader during Trump’s term and during that time installed 234 conservative judges, including 54 on the circuit courts — America’s answer to our high courts — and three chief justices. Because the courts play a much more important role in the US than here, McConnell has largely determined events in North America.

The most notable example of McConnell’s power politics was the appointment of the Supreme Court. When conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in February 2016, then-President Barack Obama would have had almost a year to replace him. He also introduced Merrick Garland, a moderate Democrat who is now attorney general.

McConnell prevented this election by not allowing discussion of Garland’s nomination in the Senate. Before taking up office, national judges must be approved by this body. As majority leader, McConnell was able to do this because in this role he could decide the Senate agenda. Nevertheless, this approach violated a taboo. Never before had a majority leader blocked the election of a chief justice in this blatant manner.

But McConnell was successful. Once Trump was in power, the empty seat was filled by Neil Gorsuch, a very conservative judge. McConnell justified his actions at the time by saying he wanted to leave the election to the American people. However, when progressive Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020, McConnell rushed the election of Amy Coney Barrett through the Senate just weeks before the presidential election.

He had previously appointed another conservative, Brett Kavanaugh, to the Supreme Court. Thanks to McConnell, conservatives currently have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court.

This has far-reaching consequences: “Roe v. Wade”, the ruling that made abortion possible in the United States for over fifty years, has been overturned. President Biden’s tuition waiver has been reversed; also a law that would have made it more difficult to buy guns.

Now the Supreme Court has also done Trump a big favor. What matters to him is that as president he enjoys ‘absolute immunity’ and therefore cannot be prosecuted. With this legally hopeless demand, the ex-president only wants to achieve one thing: to postpone the criminal trial for his role on January 6, 2021 to a date after the elections.

The Supreme Court gave Donald Trump a gift

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court decided to grant Trump’s absurd request. This despite the fact that the Court of Appeal has already rejected this request in a fifty-page, thorough statement of reasons. The highest judges therefore had no reason to consider this. While it is unlikely, even unthinkable, that they will agree with Trump, they have been significantly supportive of his delaying tactics.

It has therefore become doubtful whether the trial against Trump will take place this year. This is a serious blow to democracy because voters need to know whether the ex-president committed a crime or not. This also applies to an acquittal. Polls show that a conviction would cost Trump enormous votes.

McConnell’s behavior was also ambivalent in his handling of the incidents of January 6, 2021. The Republican minority leader avoided a Senate conviction in the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings against Trump. Such a conviction would have banned Trump from politics forever.

At the same time, McConnell strongly condemned Trump’s behavior. It was a “disgraceful neglect of duty” and the ex-president was “practically and morally” responsible for the storming of the Capitol, McConnell had told the Senate – and for once he was terribly wrong. He had expected the courts to hold the ex-president accountable; something that has now become unsafe, not least thanks to him.

At the same time, McConnell earned the ire of the MAGA crowd with this speech. And that brings us to the positive side of it. To the Trump camp, McConnell has mutated into a RINO, a Republican in name only. An attempt was therefore made to oust him as minority leader in the Republican Senate after the midterm elections. Not successful, but the tablecloth between McConnell and Trump has been cut forever.

McConnell also deserves a lot of credit for his commitment to Ukraine. Many Republicans have now switched sides and want to withdraw this aid because Ukraine, like almost everything in current American politics, has become a pawn between Republicans and Democrats. To his credit, McConnell is not participating in this Republican smear theater.

It is also feared that his resignation in November next year will not be a happy day for democracy. He will likely be replaced by someone who will be unconditionally loyal to Trump and his MAGA crowd.