Cruz says he doesn’t know if McConnell runs for reelection if Trump wins White House

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Sunday said he is unsure if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will run for reelection if former President Trump takes back the White House in November, given the frequent tension between the two men.

Pressed by “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo if he believes McConnell will not run should Trump win the general election, Cruz said, ” I don’t know. That’s a decision for Mitch to make.”

“Obviously, there’s a lot of bad blood between Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Mitch will have to make that decision,” he continued. What I want to see is, I want to see Republicans in the Senate stand and lead and fight. I believe November is going to be a very good election. I think we’re going to see Donald Trump reelected as president of the United States.”

McConnell is currently serving a six-year term that runs through 2026.

The Hill reached out to McConnell’s office for further comment.

McConnell’s relationship with Trump, or lack thereof, is well known on Capitol Hill, as the former president repeatedly criticized the GOP leader since his 2020 reelection loss. The Kentucky Republican has occasionally fired back his own jabs at the ex-president.

In an interview with The Hill last week, McConnell acknowledged Trump is the most prominent Republican in today’s political climate while defending his decision to stand up to the former president on certain issues.

Trump earlier this month expressed staunch opposition to both the Senate’s bipartisan border security deal — which collapsed amid GOP opposition – along with the upper chamber’s emergency defense spending bill that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel.

The bill was approved last Tuesday in a 70-29 vote after 22 Republicans — including McConnell — joined the majority of Senate Democrats to pass the package. The Senate minority leader told The Hill that getting 22 Republicans to vote for the bill was impressive, given Trump’s opposition and sway in the GOP.

The Republican senator is one of the few lawmakers who have yet to endorse the former president’s reelection bid and has remained mum on the topic.

Earlier this month, Trump claimed he “heard” McConnell “wants” to endorse him, but neither the lawmaker nor his office confirmed the claim at the time.

 Trump has maintained a wide lead in the GOP primary field. He has a nearly 63-point lead over Haley in national polling, according to poll aggregations from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ. In Haley’s home state of South Carolina, which will hold its primary later this month, the former president has more than a 31-point lead over the former governor.