Mitch McConnell

The Senate's majority leader, insisting his chamber won't be irreparably damaged by the bitter fight over new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, is signaling he's willing to take up another high court nomination in the 2020 presidential election season should another vacancy arise.

"We'll see if there is a vacancy in 2020," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Mitch McConnell says that sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have been brought forward “in an irregular manner,” accusing Democrats of searching for a scandal to try and delay or derail the confirmation process.

First reported by the New York Times, a woman accused Kavanaugh and a male friend of sexual assault more than 30 years ago at a party when they were teenagers.

Kavanaugh is currently a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and was nominated by President Trump to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Teachers got a lot of love from speakers during the Fancy Farm political speaking event.

U.S. Congressman James Comer made a point to thank teachers who showed up to Fancy Farm, saying that they “deserve the respect of our highest elected officials.”

The comment is a dig at Gov. Bevin, who has made several inflammatory statements about teachers, including a claim that teachers left their students vulnerable to sexual assault and drug abuse by protesting in Frankfort earlier this year.

After the announcement of the retirement of the U.S. Supreme Court’s swing-voting Justice Anthony Kennedy, Mitch McConnell told a gathering of Kentucky Republicans that this has been “the best” year-and-a-half for conservatives in recent history.

President Donald Trump has said he’ll nominate Kennedy’s replacement on July 9 and McConnell will be tasked with shepherding the nominee through the confirmation process in the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans.

A liberal group is taking aim at a Kentucky judge who is on President Trump’s short list of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees.

The group Demand Justice is behind a digital ad portraying federal appeals court judge Amul Thapar as a far right jurist who wrote a 2016 ruling that threw out a prohibition against judges making political contributions.

The Herald-Leader reports it’s one of five ads the activist group is releasing against judges who appeared on an official Supreme Court short list issued by the White House last fall.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has passed it’s version of the Farm Bill with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s provisions to remove hemp from a list of Schedule 1 controlled substances.

McConnell’s Hemp Farming Act of 2018 legalizes the growing of hemp and also allows hemp cultivators to receive federal crop insurance. Lawmakers made amendments during Wednesday's Agriculture Committee meeting and passed the revised version of the bill with only one dissenting vote from  Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

The Senate’s top leader is usually a powerful ally of President Donald Trump, but he finds himself at odds with his fellow Republican over slapping tariffs on American allies.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warns that key Kentucky products including bourbon could wind up targets of retaliation if a trade war erupts over the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe, Mexico and Canada.

“I don’t think anything good will come out of a trade war,” McConnell said during an appearance Friday before Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce. “And I hope we pull back from the brink here. Because these tariffs will not be good for the economy.”

Kentucky employers and addiction treatment providers are throwing their weight behind Senator Mitch McConnell’s opioid bill introduced last week in the U.S. Senate.

Known as the CAREER Act, McConnell’s bill would funnel millions of dollars into the state to help people with opioid addictions obtain jobs and safe housing.

McConnell took part in discussions about the opioid crisis in Louisville Monday.

Under the bill, 10 states with the highest rates of drug overdoses, which would include Kentucky, would get funding for five years starting in 2019. Scott Hesseltine, vice president of addiction services at addiction and mental health service provider Centerstone, said jobs and housing are common challenges for people finishing inpatient recovery programs.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has introduced a bill aimed at addressing the impact the opioid epidemic is having on the nation’s workforce.

The Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry, or CAREER Act, creates a pilot program focused on the states most devastated by substance abuse. The legislation encourages local businesses and treatment groups to form partnerships. McConnell said having stable employment is about more than a paycheck and supporting a family.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants to revive hemp as a major agricultural product in the U.S. and plans to file a bill to remove hemp from the federal list of controlled substances.

It’s currently illegal to grow hemp without a permit because it’s a member of the same species as cannabis. But, hemp has a negligible amount of the high-inducing compound THC.

McConnell told a room full of hemp promoters in Frankfort on Monday that he thinks the country is ready to legalize the plant.

The opposing leaders of the U.S. Senate shared a stage at the University of Louisville on Monday, the same day the chamber is set to begin an open debate on bills dealing with immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to reassure an audience of mostly students that the Senate would be able to navigate a divided political climate to find solutions.

But Schumer still said the immigration debate would be a test for lawmakers.