Senate leaders look to work with White House to block Roy Moore

Jonathan Bachman | Stringer | Getty Images

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Judge Roy Moore speaks during a campaign event at the Walker Springs Road Baptist Church on November 14, 2017 in Jackson, Alabama.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that he wanted to work with the White House to explore ways to keep embattled Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore from taking office if he wins a special election in Alabama.

Speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, McConnell said he had been in contact with President Donald Trump and others about sexual misconduct allegations against Moore.

“He’s obviously not fit to be in the United States Senate,” McConnell said, “and we’ve looked at all the options to try and prevent that from happening.”

Five women have accused Moore of sexual misconduct stemming from when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. Moore, now 70, has denied the allegations.

Trump returns to Washington on Tuesday evening from a 12-day trip to Asia, and McConnell said he planned to discuss Moore’s situation with the president. Both are Republicans.

McConnell said he had also spoken with Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about Moore.

Trump supported Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, in the Republican primary but threw his support to Moore after Strange was defeated.

McConnell said Republicans were still considering having a candidate launch a write-in campaign against Moore for the Dec. 12 special election. Speculation has centered on Strange and the current U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, as possibilities.

McConnell said later in the day that Sessions, who left the Senate seat to become attorney general, would be a plausible write-in candidate.

“He fits the mold of somebody who might be able to pull off a write-in,” the majority leader said during a forum on the economy.