Former GOP congressman Jason Chaffetz said on Fox News Monday that it was hard to see the case to keep Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) as Majority Leader in the wake of struggles to pass Republican agenda items.
"Does Mitch need to go?" Fox News host Doocy asked.
"Again, I don't know what the case is to keep him," Chaffetz said. "With all due respect, he's a very nice gentleman. He's very accomplished. But you've got to actually produce things, and they haven't been able to do that.
Relations between McConnell and President Donald Trump have been tense since the failure of Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare this summer; at one point, the two had a reported shouting match over the phone. A number of conservative organizations called on McConnell last week to "step aside."
Trump and McConnell are scheduled to meet Monday on tax reform, the budget, and judicial nominees, and Doocy asked Chaffetz to discuss their fraught relationship.
"When the team isn't performing well and putting wins up on the board, a lot of people on that team want to see a change in the coach," Chaffetz said of calls for McConnell's ouster.
Chaffetz didn't give McConnell credit for helping ensure the confirmation of Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's principal accomplishment to date. People are looking at Congress, Chaffetz said, and wondering where the tax reform bill is and why the Obamacare repeal failed.
Chaffetz became a Fox News contributor this year after stepping down from his Utah congressional seat.