--- title: Carly Fiorina: Maybe Mitch McConnell, John Boehner Should Go description: Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said congressional GOP leaders should leave if they can't pass conservative bills canonical: https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-06T22:50:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:34.938Z article:section: Politics og:title: Fiorina: Leaders 'Should Go' if They Can't Pass Bills og:description: She called for antiabortion legislation. og:url: https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e7a27eb305554b7/69885f3e5f570f848cb1cebd/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Carly Fiorina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fiorina: Leaders 'Should Go' if They Can't Pass Bills twitter:description: She called for antiabortion legislation. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e7a27eb305554b7/69885f3e5f570f848cb1cebd/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Fiorina: GOP Leaders 'Should Go' if They Don't Pass Anti-Abortion Bill ## Video: Trump- -I'm not a Puppet [Watch (HLS stream): Trump- -I'm not a Puppet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UV3g3CYA.m3u8) (0:23)  _Published 2015-08-19. Trump- -I'm not a Puppet_ by [Zeke J Miller / Bedford, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Bedford, N.H. Sep 6, 2015 10:50 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina speaks during a predebate forum in Cleveland on Aug. 6, 2015 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina speaks during a predebate forum in Cleveland on Aug. 6, 2015John Minchillo—AP by [Zeke J Miller / Bedford, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Bedford, N.H. Sep 6, 2015 10:50 PM UTC Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said Sunday she is disappointed in congressional GOP leadership, arguing that if they don’t move swiftly to pass conservative legislation, they “should go.” Mentioning Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell by name, Fiorina said at a campaign stop in Bedford, N.H., that the Republican leaders haven’t done enough since the 2014 election. “Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, I know them both, they’re good men,” she said to a gathering of about 30 supporters. “But perhaps they’ve been captured by the status quo.” Fiorina said the Republican-controlled Congress should pass bills to institute a 20-week abortion ban and defund Planned Parenthood, secure the border, and rein in government regulations regardless of whether President Obama threatens to veto the legislation, adding that if they can’t do it, the GOP leadership should step aside. “I think if they would did those three things I would be satisfied that leadership is producing results,” Fiorina said. “And if they can’t produce results then unfortunately leadership should go.” Speaking to reporters after the event, Fiorina, who is banking her candidacy on voter frustrations with “career politicians,” said Americans are frustrated by the mismatch between the promises made in 2014 and the results in Washington. “I think voters worked hard to return a historic Republican majority to the House and to restore a Republican majority to the Senate, and I think people haven’t seen much result from that,” she said. Fiorina added that Republican lawmakers should couple a measure to defund Planned Parenthood with legislation to keep the government operating into the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, even if it provokes a government shutdown. “If President Obama is prepared to shut down the government because he cares so much about Planned Parenthood, then let him do that,” Fiorina said. “But I think this gets to the core of our nation’s character, and I also know that the vast majority of Americans agree with me on that.” ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/"},"headline":"Fiorina: GOP Leaders 'Should Go' if They Don't Pass Anti-Abortion Bill","datePublished":"2015-09-06T22:50:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:34.938Z","description":"Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said congressional GOP leaders should leave if they can't pass conservative bills","url":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/","keywords":["abortion","Congress","John Boehner","Mitch McConnell","Planned Parenthood","2016 Campaign","Carly Fiorina"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e7a27eb305554b7/69885f3e5f570f848cb1cebd/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke J Miller / Bedford, N.H."}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e7a27eb305554b7/69885f3e5f570f848cb1cebd/carly-fiorina1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Carly Fiorina","caption":"Carly Fiorina","creditText":"John Minchillo—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/","name":"Fiorina: GOP Leaders 'Should Go' if They Don't Pass Anti-Abortion Bill"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump- -I'm not a Puppet","description":"Trump- -I'm not a Puppet","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UV3g3CYA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-19T21:49:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UV3g3CYA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/","duration":"PT23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4024066/carly-fiorina-mitch-mcconnell-john-boehner-abortion/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```