In an interview with Politico, the Minority Leader pledged that if Republicans took control of the Senate after the 2014 election, he would attach policy riders to spending bills that would either encumber or fully restrict the president’s bureaucratic leeway. These riders could come in different forms and scopes, from abortion policy to the implementation of health care reform. So it’s impossible to know just how confrontational McConnell wants to be. But Politico’s report suggests he would be willing to see the standoff all the way to a shutdown.

But asked about the potential that his approach could spark another shutdown, McConnell said it would be up to the president to decide whether to veto spending bills that would keep the government open.

Obama “needs to be challenged, and the best way to do that is through the funding process,” McConnell said. “He would have to make a decision on a given bill, whether there’s more in it that he likes than dislikes.”

More: McConnell Warms Up to the Idea of Another Government Shutdown