WASHINGTON — With nine months until the presidential election, Republicans, including some members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation, are lining up behind Donald Trump.

What You Need To Know

  • Republicans, including some members of Kentucky’s delegation, are lining up behind former President Donald Trump

  • Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has yet to endorse the former president

  • In 2021, McConnell said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he wins the Republican nomination

  • Last month, McConnell said he did not have an announcement to make on the presidential election 

Washington’s most powerful Republican, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, has yet to endorse the former president.

Late last month, a reporter asked McConnell if it would appear strange that he isn’t endorsing Trump, as “more and more Republican members of Congress continue to endorse him.”

“I don’t have any announcement to make on the presidential election,” McConnell replied. “In fact, you all may recall I’ve stayed essentially out of it and when I change my mind about that, I’ll let you know.”

McConnell and Trump have had a chilly relationship for years.

Trump has repeatedly criticized McConnell and made racist comments about the Kentucky senator’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

McConnell blamed Trump for “candidate quality” issues in 2022.

After Trump won the 2024 New Hampshire primary, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posted online that it was “past time for the Republican Party to unite around President Trump,” but McConnell has not done so.

University of Kentucky professor and political scientist Stephen Voss said McConnell likely feels conflicted.

Trump is to blame for Republicans underperforming in many congressional elections, Voss said.

If Trump is the party’s nominee, McConnell needs him to win so Republicans can resume appointing conservatives to federal judgeships, a McConnell priority, Voss added.

“McConnell will be stuck endorsing Donald Trump, who’s been damaging the Republican party since 2018 because it’s really the only hope of protecting a lot of what McConnell accomplished on behalf of conservatives for the last decade,” Voss said.

McConnell blamed Trump for the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Still, weeks later, he said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he wins the Republican nomination.

With Trump likely to be the GOP nominee, Voss said the question is not if McConnell will endorse Trump, but when.

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