Mitch McConnell endorses Donald Trump for president

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Donald Trump's bid to return to the White House on Wednesday after a dominant Super Tuesday performance by the former president.

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that, as nominee, he will have my support," said McConnell, R-Ky.

McConnell was the highest-profile Republican who had yet to endorse Trump. Asked repeatedly whether he would back Trump in recent months, McConnell demurred, telling reporters he would back the party's eventual nominee.

McConnell issued his endorsement shortly after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley ended her campaign.

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In his statement Wednesday, McConnell highlighted the "great things" he and Trump accomplished during his presidency, including remaking the federal judiciary and installing three conservative justices on the Supreme Court.

"I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people," he said.

McConnell and Trump have long had a frosty relationship, which turned even icier after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. McConnell voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial related to the Capitol riot, but he gave a speech laying blame for the mob's attack directly on Trump. The two men did not speak for at least three years.

“There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it,” McConnell said on the Senate floor after Trump was acquitted in the Senate trial. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.”

McConnell has repeatedly broken with Trump and his supporters publicly in backing additional aid to Ukraine. Trump has also made racist attacks targeting McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who was transportation secretary during the Trump administration.

Still, aides to both Republicans had been holding back-channel discussions seeking an endorsement for Trump from McConnell, sources said last month.

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McConnell, whose grip on the Senate Republican conference has waned as Trump's has grown, announced that he will step down as leader at the end of the year.

Despite past public and private disagreements with Trump, McConnell has said he would support the Republican nominee, even if it was Trump.

In February 2021, a month after the Capitol attack, McConnell told Fox News that he “absolutely” would get behind Trump if he became the Republican nominee in 2024.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the only other member of Senate GOP leadership who had not endorsed Trump, added her own endorsement on X not long after McConnell released his statement. "We must beat Joe Biden and get this country back on track. Donald Trump has my support," she wrote.

Members of the Senate GOP conference had cited McConnell’s lack of a relationship with Trump as a reason they thought it made sense for him to step down as leader at the end of the year.