Republican Senator Lindsey Graham suggested he would oppose Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's virtually unchallenged hold on Senate GOP leadership if he can't have a 'working relationship' with Donald Trump on Wednesday night.
'I'm not going to vote for anybody for leader of the Senate as a Republican unless they can prove to me that they can advocate an American (sic) First agenda and have a working relationship with President Trump,' the South Carolina lawmaker told Fox News.
He followed the staggering admission by predicting a Trump victory in the next White House race.
'It's his nomination if he wants it, and I think he'll get reelected in 2024' Graham said of the GOP presidential ticket.
One of Trump's most vocal allies in Congress, Graham was asked by host Sean Hannity about the prospect of McConnell securing another term as Senate GOP Leader.
'Well, elections are about the future. If you want to be a Republican leader in the House or the Senate, you have to have a working relationship with President Donald Trump,' Graham said.
He called Trump 'the most consequential Republican since Ronald Reagan.'
Graham's stunning suggestion that he wouldn't back McConnell was followed by the South Carolina lawmaker calling Trump the most consequential Republican since Ronald Reagan'
The South Carolina Republican explained that he 'likes' McConnell and credited him for helping pass key Trump administration agenda items like tax cuts and putting three new Supreme Court justices on the bench.
'Here's the question: Can Senator McConnell effectively work with the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump?' Graham posed.
'I'm not going to vote for anybody that can't have a working relationship with President Trump: To be a team, to come up with an America First agenda, to show the difference between us and liberal Democrats, prosecute the case for Trump policies.'
Trump has reportedly been trying to find someone to challenge McConnell's iron grip on the Senate GOP leadership
He added: 'If you can't do that, you will fail.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to McConnell's office for comment.
Despite working efficiently together when Trump was in the White House, his relationship with McConnell soured after the deadly January 6 Capitol riot last year.
It frayed even further as the Biden administration went on and McConnell worked with Democrats to raise the US debt limit and pass a landmark $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Trump frequently lashes out at the longtime Kentucky senator, who unlike some other members of his caucus has not shied away from taking the ex-president head on.
One of hist most oft-invoked insults is calling McConnell a 'broken old crow.'
In mid-November when the infrastructure bill was passed, Trump put out a statement mocking McConnell by suggesting he go watch President Joe Biden sign the bill in-person.
'Based on the fact that the Old Crow convinced many Republican Senators to vote for the Bill, greatly jeopardizing their chance of winning re-election, and that he led the way, he should go to the signing and put up with the scorn from Great Republican Patriots that are already lambasting him,' Trump said on November 13.
Former President Donald Trump, Senator Lindsey Graham, and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy walk to greet supporters after arriving on Air Force One at LAX Airport on February 18, 2020. Graham has remained one of Trump's staunched allies in Congress even after the ex-president left office
McConnell has stood by for his support of Biden's bill, however, declaring he was 'proud' to stand with 18 other GOP senators on it and stating the package would be 'extremely good' for Kentucky.
This week Trump called McConnell a 'loser' for agreeing with South Dakota GOP Senator Mike Rounds that the 2020 election was fair, comments that earned the lawmaker his own public spat with the ex-president.
In an interview with Fox last month, Tump declared: 'Mitch McConnell’s a disaster. The Republicans have to get a new leader.'
And in September, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Trump was making calls to allies in the Senate and other supporters to gauge if they too felt it was time for a leadership change.
But even Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who Trump helped win his seat, reportedly said McConnell is doing a 'good job.'
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