GOP leaders increasingly at odds as House Republicans rage against McConnell: report

On Thursday, writing for CNN, correspondents Manu Raju and Melanie Zanona revealed how increasing frustration from the House GOP over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is creating new tension in the Republican Party.

"With control of both chambers at stake in next year's midterms, the two top Republican leaders have increasingly taken sharply divergent positions on major issues dominating Congress," said the report. "With a 50-seat minority in a chamber where 60 votes are needed to get anything done, the GOP's longest-serving Senate leader has been forced to cut deals with Democrats and President Joe Biden — accords that have run into a buzzsaw of opposition from McCarthy and House Republicans. McConnell, more than 20 years McCarthy's senior, believes they can govern as the GOP fights tooth-and-nail to derail much of the Biden agenda."

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A major catalyst for new tension has been McConnell's agreement to another debt ceiling increase — something he previously vowed he would not help Democrats accomplish. This has divided his own caucus — and according to the report, it is stirring controversy in the House caucus as well, including among members running for Senate.

"Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican who is running for the Senate with a Trump endorsement, called McConnell a 'big spender' and said he would 'prefer someone more conservative' as leader," said the report. "Rep. Billy Long, a Missouri Republican seeking Trump's endorsement in his Senate run, complained that McConnell's deal amounted to 'dysfunction' ... But when asked twice if he'd back McConnell as leader if he becomes a senator, Long stayed quiet, appeared to shake his head and walked onto an elevator."

You can read more here.