McConnell fight with GOP opponent shifts to new battleground

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) defeated Sen. Rick Scott’s (Fla.) bid to take his job, but the battle isn’t over.

McConnell now faces a fight with Scott and other Senate conservatives over whether to block a year-end spending package before Christmas.

The GOP leader wants to pass the omnibus package funding the federal government before the end of December, according to Senate Republican and Democratic sources. But he’s coming under increasing pressure from conservatives who want to freeze federal spending until January, when Republicans will take control of the House.