Trump's allies are trashing Mitch McConnell for reaching a deal with Democrats to avert a catastrophic debt-ceiling default

• Allies of Donald Trump attacked Mitch McConnell over his newly brokered debt-ceiling deal.
• Fox News host Tucker Carlson attacked McConnell as an "instrument of the left."

Allies of former President Donald Trump have turned on Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over a deal with Democrats paving the way for the government's debt ceiling to be raised.

McConnell's deal, crafted over weeks of painstaking negotiation, saw 14 Republicans vote with Democrats on Tuesday for a one-time exemption to the filibuster, allowing the debt ceiling to be increased in a simple majority vote, rather than the 60-40 split normally required to break a filibuster.

The maneuver means that voting to raise the debt ceiling will require Democratic support only. The Senate is split 50-50, but in the event of ties, Vice President Kamala Harris has the casting vote.

McConnell's move makes good on his pledge that Republicans would not vote for a debt ceiling increase, while allowing the party to evade the blame for not reaching a deal, which could result in an economically catastrophic default.

But the move has drawn criticism from allies of Trump on the Republican hard right — who favor a scorched earth policy allowing for no compromise with Democrats.

In an interview on the right-wing OAN network, Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington called on McConnell to resign.

"It's hard to say who's giving the Democrats more cover, Mitch McConnell or the fake news media. This is absolutely appalling. We need new Republican leadership. He's given the country away," she said.

Harrington then went on to accuse him of folding to Democrats on the debt-ceiling deal, which she described as a "monstrosity."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ally of the former president, told Republican senators in a closed-door meeting on Thursday that Trump was watching to see who would vote for McConnell's debt-ceiling deal, according to a report from The Hill.

At the same meeting Graham also criticized McConnell for placing Republicans in a position where they could get "shot in the back" over the move.

In the wake of the vote, a key senate ally of Trump also attacked the deal Thursday.

"I have repeatedly said I will not support raising the debt ceiling for the Democrats' radical agenda that is causing inflation and driving up our national debt," said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin in a statement.

Fox News host Tucker Carson, a prominent media ally of Trump, devoted a segment of his Thursday night show to attacking McConnell, describing him as an "instrument of the left," and saying he is known as "the nastiest old woman in town."

Trump himself had criticized McConnell in a statement earlier in the week, accusing him of giving the Democrats cover to pass large spending bills through a debt-ceiling deal, though the two are not linked.

The subject of Carlson's monologue wasn't the debt-ceiling deal, but McConnell allegedly barring a January 6 rally organizer from having a role in organizing Sen. Bob Dole's funeral. The timing of the attack, however, was notable.

The attacks on McConnell highlight the perilous political landscape facing him in the new year. Lawmakers clamoring for Trump's approval ahead of the mid-terms likely won't want to be allied too closely with McConnell, at least publicly.

Trump's rancor against the senate minority leader stems from the January 6 riot, when McConnell blamed Trump for the chaos.

In a series of statements Trump has insulted McConnell, labelling him an "old crow", and has sought to undermine his Senate strategy.