--- title: Mitch McConnell: 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore description: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted on Tuesday that he's still uneasy about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. canonical: https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-05T22:00:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:28:15.147Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mitch McConnell Insists 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore og:description: "Let me say it again: I had hoped that Judge Moore would withdraw from the race" og:url: https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a52f2d9f4c58a7/6988f3e022fb85ebc4e23eec/gettyimages-886455334.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Senate GOP And Democrats Hold Weekly Policy Luncheons At The Capitol og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mitch McConnell Insists 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore twitter:description: "Let me say it again: I had hoped that Judge Moore would withdraw from the race" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a52f2d9f4c58a7/6988f3e022fb85ebc4e23eec/gettyimages-886455334.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mitch McConnell Insists 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=aa157dd2-f496-4347-9503-a65ee37ff882&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=aa157dd2-f496-4347-9503-a65ee37ff882&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=aa157dd2-f496-4347-9503-a65ee37ff882&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Dec 5, 2017 10:00 PM UTC  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) listens to reporters' questions at the US Capitol on December 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) listens to reporters' questions at the US Capitol on December 5, 2017 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Dec 5, 2017 10:00 PM UTC Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted on Tuesday that he’s still uneasy about the controversy-wracked Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, despite comments he made over the weekend that suggested the sexual misconduct against the Baptist judge were outside of his purview. “There’s been no change of heart,” McConnell said on Tuesday, when asked where he stood on Moore’s candidacy. “I had hoped earlier that he would withdraw as a candidate, and obviously it’s not going to happen. If he were to be elected, he would immediately have an ethics committee case, and the committee would take a look at the situation and give us advice.” Moore, [a 70-year-old lawyer](http://time.com/4989044/roy-moore-how-could-disrupt-trump-gop/) from Alabama’s sleepy northern hills, has been among the most incendiary figures in this year’s national political discussion. He previously served as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court — a post he was removed from twice, once for refusing to take down a monument to the Ten Commandments he’d erected in the state courthouse and again for defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling on same-sex marriage – and now he’s running for the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He handily defeated incumbent Luther Strange in the September primary, and he remains competitive in the general contest, scheduled for next Tuesday. Moore had always been controversial — among other things, he has in the past compared homosexuality to bestiality — but a national scandal erupted in November, when a number of women alleged in the [Washington _Post_ ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.7cd871e0d1b9)that several decades ago, Moore had pursued sexual relationships with them while they were teenage girls. The G.O.P. was swift to distance itself from him. On Nov. 13, McConnell, echoing a [number of his colleagues](http://time.com/5023205/roy-moore-senate-republican-party/) in the Senate, called on Moore to exit the election. “I believe the women,” McConnell [said then](http://time.com/5021589/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell/). He also floated the prospect of nominating a write-in candidate to supplant Moore. But on Sunday, in an interview with [_This Week_ on ABC](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-12-17-sen-mitch-mcconnell-rep/story?id=51533836), McConnell appeared to waffle. “I’m going to let the people of Alabama make the call,” he said, when asked by host George Stephanopoulos if he believed Moore “should be in the Senate.” He was bombarded with questions on Moore at a weekly press conference with Senate Republican leadership on Tuesday. “I’ve made my position perfectly clear,” he said. “Let me say it again: I had hoped that Judge Moore would withdraw from the race.” He also noted that if Moore wins next week, “based on a 1969 Supreme Court decision, we would have no choice but to swear him in.” McConnell’s remarks on Tuesday came a day after President Donald Trump formally endorsed Moore in both tweets and a phone call to Moore himself, in which he offered, as Moore later [recounted](http://time.com/5049288/rnc-supports-roy-moore-donald-trump/), “his full support.” Trump will travel to Pensacola, Florida, a city less than 20 miles from the Alabama border, on Friday for a rally. The Republican National Committee has since confirmed that it would renew its backing of Moore during the campaign’s final stretch, after ceasing its fundraising efforts for the candidate last month. These pivots underscore the uncomfortable rift in Republican politics in the age of Trump. The Republican establishment finds itself in an awkward position: though their policy and political priorities often differ from those of the president, more often than not they find themselves needing to acquiesce to avoid alienating Trump’s base. Those Republicans who have publicly defied Trump — [Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona](http://time.com/5042705/donald-trump-jeff-flake-not-going-quietly/), for instance — have seen their popularity, and in turn their careers, crumble. Other than Trump himself, Moore is perhaps the most prominent face of the populist, anti-establishment groundswell that has redefined conservative politics over the last two years. Should Moore win and hold onto his Senate seat, we can expect some awkward meetings between him and McConnell: Moore’s campaign messaging has railed against the Senate Majority Leader as a _bête noire_ embodying the worst of establishment politics. In a conversation with TIME on Nov. 14, shortly after the allegations of sexual impropriety against Moore surfaced, his campaign manager Bill Armistead accused McConnell of “working to the tune of 20 or 30 million dollars” to slander Moore in the Republican primary. (The Republican mainstream had backed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who took Sessions’ seat when he became Attorney General.) “It’s politically motivated. It’s coming from those who don’t want Judge Moore in Washington,” Armistead said. “They’re false attacks on the judge and we’ll let the people decide if the judge is an honorable man.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/"},"headline":"Mitch McConnell Insists 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore","datePublished":"2017-12-05T22:00:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:28:15.147Z","description":"\"Let me say it again: I had hoped that Judge Moore would withdraw from the race\"","url":"https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/","keywords":["alabama","Congress","Mitch McConnell","Roy Moore","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a52f2d9f4c58a7/6988f3e022fb85ebc4e23eec/gettyimages-886455334.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78a52f2d9f4c58a7/6988f3e022fb85ebc4e23eec/gettyimages-886455334.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate GOP And Democrats Hold Weekly Policy Luncheons At The Capitol","caption":"Senate GOP And Democrats Hold Weekly Policy Luncheons At The Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","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":"/tag/alabama/","name":"alabama"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5050655/roy-moore-mitch-mcconnell-trump/","name":"Mitch McConnell Insists 'No Change of Heart' Over Roy Moore"}}]}] ```