Nov 14, 2017

McConnell: If Moore wins, he'll "immediately" face Ethics Committee

Erica Pandey

McConnell weighed in on the Roy Moore controversy. Photo: Alex Brandon / AP

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if Alabama's Senate candidate Roy Moore wins, he'll face an ethics investigation immediately after he's sworn into office. "It would be a rather unusual beginning," McConnell said, speaking at a Wall Street Journal event.

"I'd like to save the seat, and it's a heck of a dilemma when you've got a completely unacceptable candidate bearing the label of your party within a month of the election," he added.

McConnell is one of several Republicans who have called for Moore to step aside. He has also spoken with President Trump and Vice President Pence about the allegations against the candidate, but Trump has yet to take a public stance on the issue.

The senator also addressed the possibility of saving the seat for the GOP by tapping Attorney General Jeff Sessions to run on a write-in campaign, as Sen. Lisa Murkowski successfully did in Alaska. "The Alabamian who would fit that profile would be the Attorney General ... He's totally well known and extremely popular in Alabama," McConnell said.

Go deeper: How Moore could be expelled from the Senate

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McConnell: If Moore wins, he'll "immediately" face Ethics Committee

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