Mitch Mcconnell

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Republicans are trying to shift focus away from a controversial letter to Iranian leaders last week and back toward details of the nuclear deal President Obama is negotiating with the Islamic republic. (Associated Press)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on March 2, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

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FILE - In the Feb, 13, 2015, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, stand together at a ceremony before the signing of the bill authorizing expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, at the Capitol in Washington. Boehner and McConnell are facing a dilemma. After winning control of both congressional chambers, Republican leaders vowed to keep the government funded and to block President Barack Obama from overhauling immigration policies. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, stand together Feb, 13, 2015, at a ceremony before the signing of the bill authorizing expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, at the Capitol in Washington. (Associated Press) **FILE**

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Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, did not support a plan proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican to avert a shutdown. He called the about-face by GOP senators "a mistake."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky accompanied by Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, right, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, to talk about his move to disentangle one of two contested immigration measures from the Homeland Security budget and debate the issues separately, as the Senate faces an impasse over provisions attached to the spending bill aimed at blocking President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John A. Boehner have tussled with their right flank over how best to advance a conservative agenda at the Capitol. (Associated Press) **FILE**

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky attend a statue unveiling ceremony honoring former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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The conservative core of the Republican Party has long been leery of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, who are viewed derisively as establishment stalwarts. (Associated Press)

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US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, waits for the start of the State of The Union address by US President Barack Obama on January 20, 2015 in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/POOL/MANDEL NGAN

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House Speaker John Boehner, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell meet with the press at the GOP retreat at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/PennLive.com, Mark Pynes ) ** FILE **

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President Barack Obama, flanked by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to media before his meetin with bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss a wide range of issues, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to his office from the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, after making plans to begin debate on the Keystone XL pipeline bill which cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pursuing an ambitious agenda and says President Obama must encourage bipartisan solutions. (Associated Press)

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At the top: Vice President Joseph R. Biden, the presiding officer of the Senate, congratulated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a ceremonial re-enactment of the swearing-in Tuesday. Mr. McConnell's wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, attended the ceremony. (Associated Press photographs)

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National Edition News cover for January 6, 2015 - McConnell ready to take helm of Senate: Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., during an interview with The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. "How many times did we have the point of the week?" Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said about Democratic tactics in an interview with The Associated Press last week. "It was designed to make us walk the plank. It had nothing to do with getting a legislative outcome." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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High expectations: Mitch McConnell has many challenges ahead. He will have to find a way to work with the White House, Senate Democrats and the conservative wing of his own party. (Associated Press)

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Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., during an interview with The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. "How many times did we have the point of the week?" Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said about Democratic tactics in an interview with The Associated Press last week. "It was designed to make us walk the plank. It had nothing to do with getting a legislative outcome." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, speaks with reporters following a closed-door policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. From left behind McConnell are Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Republican Policy Committee chairman, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Republican Conference chairman, and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Powerful Republicans, such as incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have argued that the USA Freedom Act to limit data collection would curtail U.S. counterterrorism operations. (Associated Press)