'Moscow Mitch' banned from Russia: McConnell accused of forming 'Russophobic course'

Russia has had about enough of "Moscow Mitch."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has joined President Joe Biden and his family on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' list of Americans banned from visiting Russia, the country announced Tuesday, for what the ministry called "the formation of the Russophobic course" in Congress.

The ministry said its updated list of persona non grata is "a response to the ever-expanding U.S. sanctions against Russian political and public figures."

President Biden had previously been listed among those banned, along with political figures including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Tuesday's updated list includes other members of Biden's family, including first lady Jill Biden, and four U.S. senators – McConnell was joined by fellow Republicans Susan Collins and Ben Sasse as well as Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand

Representatives from McConnell's office did not immediately provide a comment on behalf of the senator, who was set to speak Tuesday afternoon at an event in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Earlier this year, McConnell said the U.S. government should "ratchet the sanctions all the way up" against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. He opposed sending American troops to fight in the war but said the U.S. should provide military aid to the people of Ukraine.

"There's no such thing as a 'little invasion,'" McConnell said in February. "(Russian President) Vladimir Putin is a bad guy. He's an authoritarian. He yearns for empire, and we need to do everything we can to stop it."

Background: McConnell called 'Moscow Mitch' for blocking election security bills

Russia's move to bar McConnell from the country could come as a surprise to some, given an infamous nickname given to the senator years ago.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough dubbed McConnell "Moscow Mitch" on his show in 2019, accusing McConnell of blocking measures that would prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections after former special counsel Robert Mueller presented a report to two House committees that detailed how the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

McConnell's office defended his record at the time, saying the senator "has a long and strong record of fighting for fair and effective voting procedures," and McConnell himself later ripped the nickname on the Hugh Hewitt Show, calling it "modern day McCarthyism" and an "over the top" smear on his career.

"Unbelievable for a Cold Warrior like me who spent a career standing up to the Russians to be given a moniker like that," McConnell told Hewitt in September 2019. "It’s an effort to smear me. You know, I can laugh about things like the Grim Reaper, but calling me Moscow Mitch is over the top."

Mitch McConnell on Ukraine: Ratchet up Russia sanctions; Putin "yearns for empire"

McConnell visited Ukraine in May to "stand in solidarity with the heroic people" and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a statement last week, he called on the U.S. to continue to provide the nation with "what it needs to finish this fight, including artillery and long-range rockets."

This story may be updated.

Reporters Sarah Ladd and Morgan Watkins contributed. Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell, once dubbed 'Moscow Mitch,' now banned from Russia