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

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell 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 hardline 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 "number one priority for America" − or federal spending, McConnell is out of step with the majority of Americans and frankly recalcitrant towards 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 D.C. establishment fixture, Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush (2001-2009), and Secretary of Transportation under President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

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 close friend of former Chinese Communist Party leader President Jiang Zemin. The Chaos owned and operated Foremost Shipping − an ostensibly American company that just so happens to ship 70% of its present-day freight to China and maintains several ties with its communist government.

Right after Chao became Secretary in 2017, the family purchased 10 ships from government-run enterprises. 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 Chao was calling for cuts to similar training in the U.S. Additionally, she directed staff to handle personal tasks and work related to the company, such as arranging interviews, editing Wikipedia pages and planning trips.

Chao used her leadership position to benefit not just herself, but her husband. She assigned a special liaison in the Department of Transportation 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 which was reported on McConnell’s taxes as valued between $5 million and $25 million. He has also received campaign contributions from Chao family members totaling over $1 million.

China isn’t the only place we see his ideology bending in the direction of personal opportunity. In September 2019, for example, the senator blocked bipartisan legislation, passed by the House and spearheaded by Chuck Grassley, that sought to lower prescription drug prices. Why did McConnell 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. 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.

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. This could explain why McConnell refused to tap his massive, $600 million war chest to fund Republican candidates that he had not handpicked himself.

McConnell would rather drag down the party than sacrifice his ability to use it as an 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 is the former president and CEO of Duro Bag and founder of the Charles L. Shor Foundation for Epilepsy Research.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mitch McConnell is sacrificing American interests for his own