McConnell appeared to smile as a reporter asked him during a weekly press conference if he knew that his family once owned slaves, and if it changed his position on reparations for African Americans.

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"You know, I find myself once again in the same position as President Obama. We both oppose reparations, and we both are the descendants of slaveholders," McConnell told reporters.

The report came after McConnell said in June, ahead of a House hearing, that he opposed reparations, which would provide payments to descendants of slaves, saying, “None of us currently living are responsible.”