Now that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has announced his resignation, one senior Republican is calling for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to also step down.
"McConnell needs to resign!!" Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere wrote in a Saturday Facebook post in response to a new spending bill McConnell proposed that still contains funding for Planned Parenthood, something many conservatives adamantly oppose.
Villere has worked for 12 years as the Louisiana state GOP chairman, longer than any other state GOP chairman in the country, and also serves on the Republican National Committee executive committee, according to The Washington Times.
Villere told the Times in an interview published Sunday that McConnell is a good guy but he is hurting the Republican Party's base.
"I'm out in the field all the time and we have all our elections this year for state offices, and it's hurting us tremendously with our elections," he said. "I've worked for 12 years as chairman to build this party, and I just don't want to see it all go down the drain because the [leaders] aren't willing to fight for what we believe... Our base is demanding we do something or they're going to leave us."
Villere said some of his main grievances are that McConnell failed to challenge President Obama's executive overreach, fight to repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood or stop illegal immigration.
"Mr. McConnell could have suspended consideration of confirmations for all presidential appointees, except for those who are essential to national security, until the president rescinded his unconstitutional executive action on amnesty," Mr. Villere said. "This would have been a constitutionally appropriate response to the overreach of the executive branch. It would have transformed the political environment, greatly encouraged Republican donors and grass-roots activists, and positioned us to refuse to confirm replacements for any Supreme Court openings that might occur during the remainder of the Obama administration."
He continued: "Not trying to repeal Obamacare, not defunding Planned Parenthood, not trying to stop illegal immigration. That is what Republicans ran on and once they were elected they did not follow up with their promises."
On Friday, Louisiana governor and Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal called for McConnell's resignation as well. "Here's what I say in response to Speaker Boehner stepping down: Mitch McConnell, it is now your turn," he said at the Values Voter Summit.
"It is time to fire these clowns and restore order once and for all," he added.
One of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz., also suggested McConnell should go next.
"Mitch McConnell is infinitely worse as a leader than Boehner," Salmon told reporters on Friday. "He surrenders at the sight of battle every time."
