President Donald Trump is looking to replace former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has frequently opposed the White House this year, with a loyal ally, but insiders say there are growing concerns among Trump’s inner circle about a front-runner’s repeated donations to lawmakers who voted to impeach the president.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) gave seven times through his leadership PAC to four House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for allegedly sparking the January 6 Capitol riot, despite Trump’s calls for them to be defeated in primaries.
Barr, 51, slammed Trump for being “irresponsible” and “not blameless,” but voted against impeaching the 45th president, according to the New York Post.
The congressman is currently in a three-way fight for McConnell’s Senate seat, which he has held since 1985. His opponents are former state attorney general Daniel Cameron, 39, and waste management entrepreneur Nate Morris, 44.
About a month after departing the White House in 2021, the former and future president publicly read out the names of the ten House Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach him over his accusations that the 2020 election was stolen, asking his followers to “get rid of them all.”
Barr gave $2,500 to then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) in February 2021, seven months after declaring Trump “a cancer” and announcing his decision not to run for re-election. Barr also continued to back three other Republicans, including then-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who voted to impeach Trump, according to The Washington Post.
Barr contributed $2,000 to then-Rep. John Katko (R-NY) on June 15, 2021; $10,000 to Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) in four installments between June 2021 and August 2022; and $3,000 to then-Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) in July 2022, according to the outlet. Only Valadao remains in the House.
“Andy Barr didn’t just blame President Trump for the violence on [Jan. 6, 2021], he actively funded the Republicans who voted to impeach him — after the president had already made clear that he was going to target them in primaries,” stated a veteran aide to Trump. “I can’t imagine a bigger slap in the face to the president than that.”
“Everyone in Trump’s circle views Barr as just another one of McConnell’s mentees, meaning you know he’s not going to be there for Trump when things get tough and it really matters,” another White House insider told The Post.
Loyalty has played an important role in Trump’s second administration’s hiring selections, and critics of Barr believe it will influence the president’s Senate endorsement.
Trump won Kentucky by 30.53 percentage points on November 5, putting him in a dominant position as kingmaker in the 2026 primary, according to The Post.
Barr’s supporters claim that he has constantly supported the president and sought to establish a wide Republican coalition to fight the Biden administration’s objectives. They also point out that his PAC has made hundreds of dollars.
Barr’s spokesperson, Alex Bellizzi, emphasized the seven-term congressman’s history of working with Trump, noting that Nate Morris gave $5,000 to former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on May 20, 2021.
Haley appeared as Trump’s most persistent primary contender in 2024, although on April 12, 2021—just before Morris’ donation—she remarked, “I would not run if President Trump ran.”
She later switched tactics and began her campaign in February 2023, three months after Trump announced his candidacy, according to The Post.
Bellizzi also said that Barr is the most electable Republican, noting that Daniel Cameron lost the 2023 Kentucky governor’s election to Democrat Andy Beshear by more than five points.
“Daniel Cameron lost with President Trump’s endorsement in a state that the president won by 30 points,” Barr’s spokesperson told The Post. “Nate Morris backed Nikki Haley against President Trump when she stated that the GOP needs to move on from Trump permanently.
“He signed the CEO Diversity Pledge and his ESG company lost $200 million in his final year as CEO by a company trading for pennies on the dollar on the stock exchange,” according to a spokesperson.