Mitch McConnell is out of step with the majority of Americans. He must go.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., once legislated on behalf of the interests of Americans. Today, he is nothing more than an opportunist who will sell out the American people to foreign interests and maintain his post as the leader of the Senate Republican conference at the expense of legislative victories. He must go.

Early in his career, McConnell resembled someone more aligned with today’s Republican base. Back then, McConnell supported American jobs and fought foreign imports. To name just a few examples, he took a hard line on China, pressured South Korea to open its markets, increased minimum export tonnage, promoted tourism, limited textile imports and promoted pharmaceutical exports.

Today, McConnell’s key characteristic is being on the wrong side of each and every policy issue facing the United States. Whether it is immigration where he has pushed multiple times for amnesty for illegal immigrants, the war in Ukraine − which he calls the "No. 1 priority for the United States" − or federal spending, McConnell is out of step with the majority of Americans and frankly recalcitrant toward the priorities of the Republican Party.

One explanation for McConnell’s "evolution" begins with the name Elaine Chao, his wife of 30 years, a perennial Washington establishment fixture as secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush (2001-09) and secretary of Transportation under President Donald Trump (2017-21).

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Elaine Chao used her leadership position to benefit herself – and McConnell

Despite being an early hardliner on China, McConnell did not balk at visiting Beijing in 1993 − just four years after the tanks rolled on Tiananmen Square. He was joined by his new wife and her father, James Chao, a friend of former Chinese Communist Party leader and President Jiang Zemin.

The Chaos own and operate Foremost Group − an ostensibly American shipping company that just so happens to ship more than 70% of its present-day freight to China and maintains ties with its communist government. Much of the funding for their fleet has been obtained through banks in China.

The Chao family also sponsored and trained Chinese citizens for the shipping industry, even while the Transportation secretary was calling for cuts to similar training in the United States.

Additionally, according to a 38-page inspector general report, she directed her Department of Transportation staff to handle personal tasks and work related to her family's shipping company, such as arranging interviews, editing Wikipedia pages and planning trips.

Chao used her leadership position to benefit not just herself but also her husband. According to Politico, she assigned a special Transportation liaison to work with McConnell directly, opening the door to $78 million in grants for McConnell’s favored projects in Kentucky, conveniently timed to coincide with his 2020 reelection bid.

While it is ultimately unclear how much McConnell and his family have profited from their positions of influence, we know the two received a gift in 2008 that was reported on McConnell’s taxes as valued between $5 million and $25 million. A McConnell spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post that this was an inheritance for Chao after her mother died.

He has also received campaign contributions from Chao family members totaling more than $1 million.

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Mitch McConnell puts personal profit first

China isn’t the only place we see his ideology bending in the direction of personal opportunity. In 2019, for example, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley blamed McConnell for blocking bipartisan legislation that sought to lower prescription drug prices.

Why would the Senate Republican leader block legislation that was favored by 88% of Americans? The answer lies in his financial disclosures.

By December of the same year, $50,000 had been donated to McConnell’s campaign by political action committees and individuals tied to the pharmaceutical industry, according to American Journal News. Pfizer’s recent decision to contribute an unprecedented $1 million to expanding Kentucky’s Republican Party headquarters suggests that McConnell’s cozy relationship with the drug companies continues to this day.

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What this brief rehearsal of McConnell’s shifting sensibilities and personal ambition shows us is not simply a hero who lived long enough to become the villain, but a man whose position has always depended on supporting whatever policies would benefit him and his inner circle.

McConnell would rather drag down the party than sacrifice his ability to use it as a way to increase his own power and influence.

Whenever opportunity knocks, Mitch McConnell will be the first to answer, even if it means sacrificing American interests at the altar of the almighty yen. It’s time we take away his key to the congressional kingdom and hand it to someone we can trust.

Charles Shor, former president and CEO of Duro Bag, is founder of the Charles L. Shor Foundation for epilepsy research. This column first published in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: McConnell has lost touch with the GOP – and Americans. He must go