Mitch McConnell

Democrats have been trying to pressure Mitch McConnell to take up election security measures that passed out of the House of Representatives earlier this year, but the Senate majority leader has shown little willingness to do so.

In his home state of Kentucky, McConnell has been dogged by protesters calling him “Moscow Mitch”—one of the few epithets he dislikes. A billboard in his hometown of Louisville now urges his constituents to “Tell Mitch McConnell: Stop Blocking Election Security Funding.”

Congressional Republicans are waiting for the White House to chart a path forward on gun violence legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, effectively putting the burden on President Donald Trump to decide the GOP’s legislative response to the spate of mass shootings that included another deadly attack in Texas over the weekend.

Asked about prospects for a Senate vote on legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled House to expand background checks for gun purchases, McConnell said, “The administration is in the process of studying what they’re prepared to support, if anything.”

The host of a popular Kentucky sports talk show announced Thursday that he’s taking a step toward running as a Democrat for the seat of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by forming an exploratory committee.

Matt Jones said on his radio show that his decision on whether to enter the 2020 campaign will come after this year’s statewide election in November.

If he gets in, he would face a tough primary next spring that includes ex-Marine combat aviator Amy McGrath — who narrowly lost a high-profile race for the U.S. House in 2018 and is already running TV ads promoting her Senate campaign. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face a daunting race against McConnell, the most powerful congressional Republican and the kingpin of Kentucky politics.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell underwent successful surgery to repair a fracture in his shoulder — an injury he suffered when he fell at his Kentucky home earlier this month.

The surgery occurred Thursday in his hometown of Louisville, a McConnell spokesman said Friday.

"The surgery was performed without incident, and the Leader is grateful to the surgical team for their skill," McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a brief statement.

McConnell's staff did not immediately respond to an email seeking additional details about the procedure.

Democratic Presidential hopeful and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan held a rally in Louisville Thursday evening to demand Mitch McConnell take action on gun reform.

Congressman John Yarmuth, state lawmakers and local advocates spoke to the crowd at an outdoor amphitheater beside the Muhammad Ali Center.

With only 24 hours notice, 300-400 people packed into the rows of the outdoor amphitheater and spilled out onto the concrete to express their advocacy for gun reform legislation.

The Republican Party, the Trump campaign and other GOP organizations say they are freezing their spending on Twitter to protest the platform's treatment of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Twitter temporarily locked McConnell's campaign account Wednesday after it shared a video in which some protesters spoke of violence outside his Kentucky home, where he's recovering from a shoulder fracture.

The social media platform said in a statement that users were locked out due to a tweet "that violated our violent threats policy, specifically threats involving physical safety."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is resisting pressure to bring senators back from recess to address gun violence, despite wrenching calls to “do something” in the aftermath of back-to-back mass shootings.

Instead, the Republican leader is taking a more measured approach, as GOP senators are talking frequently among themselves, and with the White House, in the face of mounting criticism that Congress is failing to act.

President Donald Trump is privately calling up senators — and publicly pushing for an expansion of background checks for firearms purchases — but McConnell knows those ideas have little Republican support.

Kentuckians dislike their governor and one of their senators more than the residents of any of the other 49 states. Yet, Kentuckians could re-elect Matt Bevin as governor this November.

The non-partisan D.C.-based Cook Political Report ranks Bevin’s race against Democrat Andy Behear as a toss-up right now. The state is, according to Cook, also “likely” to send Mitch McConnell back to the Senate for a seventh term next fall, even though Democrat and former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath raised more than $2.5 million last month in her first day as candidate.

Democrats in Mitch McConnell's home state are pitching "Moscow Mitch" merchandise to try and capitalize on a bitter dispute involving the Kentucky senator over election security legislation.

The Kentucky Democratic Party said Wednesday it's launching the "Moscow Mitch" webstore in a dig at the Senate majority leader.

The party is selling red T-shirts for $25. They depict a picture of McConnell wearing a Cossack hat with the "hammer and sickle" symbol. The shirt declares "Just say Nyet to Moscow Mitch" in yellow, Soviet-style letters.