On Thursday, USA Today reported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was "defiant" on the right of the Koch brothers to spend money on political ads. Reporter Susan Page suggested the amount of Koch spending was inappropriate, just too large.

McConnell shot back at USA Today ownership: "How many people have to sit down and shut up in order to make the process work? My view is that in a free country with free speech, everybody ought to be as free to express themselves as Gannett."