McConnell signaling to GOP he doesn't want 'crazed' candidates: report

According to a report from Punchbowl News, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is battling with the Republican National Committee both in public and in private in an effort to keep the Republican Party from going off the rails due to Donald Trump.

With an eye at reclaiming the GOP's majority status in the November midterms, McConnell is battling with the pro-Trump wing for the soul of the party. Last week, he criticized the RNC for censuring Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). McConnell also was critical of language in the resolution that described the House committee to investigate Jan. 6 as an attack on "legitimate political discourse."

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After noting that the Kentucky Republican "openly picked a fight with the RNC," the report quotes McConnell telling reporters, "We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

According to Punchbowl, McConnell was sending a message to fellow Republicans.

"McConnell never does anything without a reason, and he chose this fight deliberately," the report states. "McConnell wanted to signal that he’s opposed to the extremist element in the GOP tied to Trump and Trumpism, and that’s the message he wants the Senate Republican Conference to push this fall. Conservative, but not crazed. And he wants nothing to distract from turning the election into a referendum on Biden’s record. He’s not willing to fight the 2020 election all over again."

You can read more here.