--- title: Mitch McConnell: 'We Could Do With a Little Less Drama' description: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had some words of advice for President Donald Trump and the White House Tuesday canonical: https://time.com/4780644/mitch-mcconnell-white-house-trump-less-drama/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-16T15:48:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:02:40.060Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mitch McConnell on the White House: 'I Think We Could Do With a Little Less Drama' og:description: McConnell would rather focus on Republicans' agenda og:url: https://time.com/4780644/mitch-mcconnell-white-house-trump-less-drama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f24aab42fc04e38/6988cd712dce01778e9ed820/gettyimages-676316906.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: mitch-mcconnell-white-house-less-drama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mitch McConnell on the White House: 'I Think We Could Do With a Little Less Drama' twitter:description: McConnell would rather focus on Republicans' agenda twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f24aab42fc04e38/6988cd712dce01778e9ed820/gettyimages-676316906.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mitch McConnell on the White House: 'I Think We Could Do With a Little Less Drama' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=550c2d51-67f3-48a6-b8b0-f0a31c753771&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What to Know About the Allegations that President Trump Shared Classified Information with Russia [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About the Allegations that President Trump Shared Classified Information with Russia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/46NLo3Zk.m3u8) (1:39)  _Published 2017-05-16. President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information to senior Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting last week, putting a source of intelligence on the Islamic State at risk, The Washington Post reported._ by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 16, 2017 3:48 PM UTC by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 16, 2017 3:48 PM UTC Senate Majority Leader [Mitch McConnell](http://time.com/4773745/james-comey-fired-mcconnell-special-prosecutor/) had some words of advice for President Donald Trump and the White House on Tuesday. “I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda,” McConnell said [in an interview with Bloomberg.](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-16/mcconnell-calls-for-less-drama-from-donald-trump-s-white-house) After Trump [fired FBI Director James Comey](http://time.com/4774305/james-comey-fired-russian-probe/) and reports surfaced that the President may have [shared classified information with Russian officials,](http://time.com/4780312/president-trump-russian-leak-tweet/) the Kentucky senator said he would rather see an emphasis on “deregulations, tax reform and repealing and replacing Obamacare.” Regarding the now vacant FBI Director position, McConnell said that while “it may surprise people,” he recommended former President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court Justice pick Merrick Garland. McConnell added that Garland has a lengthy criminal law background and would be an “apolitical” choice, despite his [denying Garland a confirmation hearing](http://time.com/4261973/mcconnell-senate-gop-merrick-garland-supreme-court/) last year. McConnell also said that whoever is picked as the [FBI Director replacement](http://time.com/4778426/james-comey-fired-president-donald-trump-fbi/) should have a law enforcement background and should not have a history of political involvement. ## Transcript [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] To our two countries, including threats to civil aviation, at no time, at no time, were intelligence sources or methods discussed. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4780644/mitch-mcconnell-white-house-trump-less-drama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4780644/mitch-mcconnell-white-house-trump-less-drama/"},"headline":"Mitch McConnell on the White House: 'I Think We Could Do With a Little Less Drama'","datePublished":"2017-05-16T15:48:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:02:40.060Z","description":"McConnell wants the White House to focus on Republicans' agenda","url":"https://time.com/4780644/mitch-mcconnell-white-house-trump-less-drama/","keywords":["White House","Mitch McConnell","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f24aab42fc04e38/6988cd712dce01778e9ed820/gettyimages-676316906.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f24aab42fc04e38/6988cd712dce01778e9ed820/gettyimages-676316906.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mitch-mcconnell-white-house-less-drama","caption":"Senate Lawmakers Address The Media After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons","creditText":"Aaron P. 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