U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) added U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) to his leadership team as an informal adviser.
Britt joins McConnell alongside formal Senate GOP leadership and others such as John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
An acolyte of former U.S. Sen. and Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby, Britt already holds the top Republican spot on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. She also serves with McConnell on the Senate Rules Committee and sits on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Britt is only in her sixth month of office, having won her seat in November’s election after Shelby announced his retirement.
“I’ve always said that my goal is to ensure Alabama has the best possible seat at the table in the Senate, so our state’s people, values, and interests can be represented effectively and strongly,” Britt said in a statement to 1819 News. “I’m proud to be delivering on my pledge to Alabamians. I also believe that I bring to the table a critical perspective and voice that is often missing in D.C. - that of the next generation of conservative leaders and that of moms with school-aged children.“
According to Britt’s communications director Sean Ross, Britt’s role on the leadership team includes attending weekly leadership meetings and voicing her opinion in those discussions.
McConnell, 81, is the longest-serving Senate leader in the history of the United States, having been in leadership since 2006. However, conservative Republicans have long criticized him for not being conservative enough.
Former President Donald Trump has had repeated clashes with McConnell over the years. After the GOP’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections, Trump blamed McConnell for “blowing” the landslide Republican victory expected by many conservatives around the country.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also accused McConnell of hindering the party’s election performance by “abandoning” Blake Masters in the Arizona U.S. Senate race because Masters vowed to vote against McConnell. Cruz said that McConnell “would rather the Democrat win.”
McConnell clashed with another member of the Alabama congressional delegation last month as he publicly condemned U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) for holding military nominations in opposition to a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) rule that uses DOD funding to pay for abortions for service members in states where abortion is illegal.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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