Now that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has announced that he will step down, some conservatives in the Republican party are turning their attention to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Roger Villere, the chairman of the Louisiana GOP, urged McConnell to resign in a Saturday Facebook post.
In an interview with the Washington Times published on Sunday, Villere said that McConnell is hurting the Republican party.
“Mitch is a good and honorable guy, but the base is leaving our party,” Villere said. “I’m out in the field all the time and we have all our elections this year for state offices, and it’s hurting us tremendously with our elections.”
He said that the majority leader should have pushed harder against President Obama’s agenda while leading the Senate.
“Mr. McConnell could have suspended consideration of confirmations for all presidential appointees, except for those who are essential to national security, until the president rescinded his unconstitutional executive action on amnesty,” he said.
Villere suggested that McConnell did not fight hard enough to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood. He said that McConnell’s support for a temporary funding bill that provides funding for Planned Parenthood will hurt the Republican party.
“If we lose the battle, we will never win the presidency again in my lifetime,” he said. “I’ve worked for 12 years as chairman to build this party, and I just don’t want to see it all go down the drain because they aren’t willing to fight for what we believe in. Our base is demanding we do something or they’re going to leave us.”
When asked who he would like to see replace McConnell, however, Villere did not have a name in mind, according to The Washington Times.
“Honestly, I haven really thought of a replacement,” he said. “We are being so beat up by the base. I just was frustrated.”
Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has also called on McConnell to resign.
“Mitch McConnell, it’s your turn,” he said on Friday at the Values Voter Summit when discussing Boehner’s resignation. “It is time to fire these clowns and restore order once and for all.”
And Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), one of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, suggested that McConnell might be next.
“Mitch McConnell is infinitely worse as a leader than Boehner,” Salmon told reporters on Friday. “He surrenders at the sight of battle every time.”
