Mitch McConnell discusses Roe v. Wade and other topics at Elizabethtown Rotary Club

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed multiple topics on Tuesday afternoon during a stop in Elizabethtown.

Senator McConnell was the guest speaker at the Elizabethtown Rotary Club. He's the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in American history.

That’s why he opened his remarks with a joke.

“You might be interested to know, that my first real break in politics was my internship with Henry Clay,” McConnell said.

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a hot topic but not the only issue facing Kentucky and the nation that Leader McConnell addressed.

"Most of the big news in the last week or so is related to the Supreme Court decisions and enormous consequences," McConnell said. "As far as the abortion issue is concerned, basically what the Supreme Court did was turn it back to the democratic process."

On Friday, the Supreme Court declared the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly half a century, no longer exists. That led to nationwide protests. McConnell said despite the ruling, he does not expect a nationwide ban.

“These issues will be decided at the state level all across America. The gun decision indicated that you have the same first amendment right to protect yourself at home that you do now outside the home," McConnell said.

McConnell also called the high court's decision involving a high school football coach who was fired for praying on the field after a game, a win. On Monday, the high court sided with a former coach who prayed at the 50-yard line after games, ruling that his public prayers were protected as free speech and free exercise of religion.

Meanwhile, as McConnell makes the rounds in his home state, he's also keeping an eye on the January 6 hearings on Capitol Hill. The senate minority leader would not say if he hopes to see another Trump ticket in 2024.

"I think it's gonna be a crowded field," he said. "A lot of Republican candidates for President we'll all be sizing them all up and those decisions will be made out in the primaries all across the country.”

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