Mitch Mcconnell Says the Senate Won’t Approve the National Abortion Ban and Distances Himself From It

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell distanced himself from grassroots conservatives who want a countrywide abortion ban.

McConnell (R-Ky.), 82, was evasive on whether he would support a national abortion ban and stated that such legislation was unlikely to pass the Senate.

“I do not believe we will obtain 60 votes in the Senate for any type of national legislation. “I think it’s going to be sorted out at the state level,” McConnell said in an interview that aired on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. To pass the Senate, any abortion legislation would need to get 60 votes to break a filibuster.

The long-tenured Kentucky Senator played a key role in the Trump administration’s appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices, paving the path for Roe v. Wade to be overturned in 2022, reversing nearly five decades of abortion rights precedent. When asked if he would support a 15-week ban comparable to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) proposal, the carefully spoken senior Kentucky senator played coy.

“I am not advocating anything at this level. “I believe it will be sorted out across the country and will differ greatly between states,” McConnell added. During the Trump administration, McConnell voted to advance consideration of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have drawn the line at 20 weeks gestation.

Graham championed legislation that came before the Supreme Court and repealed Roe v. Wade. Versions of it failed in the Senate at least twice, in 2013 and 2018. In 2022, McConnell stated that a national abortion ban was “possible,” but he stressed on Sunday that he was not necessarily advocating for it.

“I said it was possible; I didn’t say that in my opinion,” McConnell added.

His statements come as Republicans grapple with the contentious politics of abortion. A variety of polls have found that setting severe limitations on the contentious practice is unpopular. Many senior political strategists regard the topic as a huge problem for Republicans moving into the November 5 election, and some have blamed it for the GOP’s failure to meet predictions in the 2022 midterms.

Former President Donald Trump recently changed his stance on abortion, now opposing a national ban in order to win the presidential race. “In my opinion, now that we have an abortion where everyone wants it legally, the states will decide through a vote, law, or both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, state law,” Trump stated earlier this month.

McConnell is set to step aside as Senate Republican leader, a position he has held since 2007, making him the longest-serving party leader in the upper chamber’s history. Despite his impending departure from that position, McConnell has expressed his willingness to assist Republicans in regaining control of the Senate and feels the GOP has a favorable map to accomplish so.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are already engaged in a heated debate over his replacement. McConnell stated that he intends to serve out the remainder of his current term as a senator, which ends in 2027.

He has represented Kentucky in the Senate since 1984.