Calling foreign aggression "the single biggest issue we've had in a long, long time," McConnell touted the bill's passage in an interview with The Hill on Wednesday. The bill passed 70-29 on the strength of 22 Republican votes.

"We got about five more than we thought we were going to get," McConnell told The Hill. "Trump was making some calls. It's funny to be glad you get 22, but I've been on the short end of some of these other things, and 22 seemed like a landslide."

But McConnell is taking flak from his own conference.