Mitch McConnell: Senate majority leader’s face drops as voter confronts him about jobs and healthcare

The Senate Majority Leader thought he was getting praised by a voter, but it turned out to be more hostile

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be accustomed to dealing with angry voters, but his poker face has yet to be perfected.

At a lunch event in Kentucky, an attendee told the Republican that she loved him.

"Thank you," he said. "I needed that."

But he was unlikely to be grateful for what came next.

The woman then railed against the current situations regarding jobs and healthcare.

"The last I heard, these coal jobs are not coming back and now these people don’t have the insurance they need because they’re poor," she said.

"And they work those coal mines, and they’re sick, the veterans are sick, the veterans are broken down, they’re not getting what they need."

His face, captured on camera, noticeably fell.

He had already met about 1,000 protesters outside the event for the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce in Lawrenceburg.

"If you can answer any of that, I’ll sit down and shut up like Elizabeth Warren," she said, referring to an arcane Senate rule that the Republican used to stop the Massachusetts senator from objecting to attorney general Jeff Sessions by reading the words of Coretta Scott King.

The woman's last line made him laugh, and he responded: "I hope you feel better now."

"I do," she replied.

He did not answer her question, and when pressed on the subject from a local news station, he said "there’s a difference between making a speech and asking questions".

Mr McConnell has become an increasing target of protest and ire, similar to House Speaker Paul Ryan. The two top ranking Republicans have been accused of turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s gaffes so they can push through their agenda of repealing Obamacare and reforming tax.

Neither men have spoken out against Mr Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, banning Muslims from coming to the US from certain countries or the President’s attacks on the judiciary.

The angry town hall follows reports that more than 200 Republicans are skipping the events in their home states following congress members being booed on stage and Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, being shouted down.

This week he said Mr McConnell was happy with the President except for one thing - his tweets.

"But if you focus on what the President is trying to accomplish, and you believe America needed to go in a different direction, I think he’s been doing all the right things," he said.