WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Although Congress passed a war funding bill without benchmarks for withdrawing troops from Iraq, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he expects some changes in strategy this fall.

"I think that the handwriting is on the wall that we're going in a different direction in the fall, and I expect the President to lead it," McConnell said at a press conference Friday. "In other words, I think he himself has certainly indicated he's not happy with where we are, and I think we are looking for a new direction in the fall."

McConnell said the Iraqi government has to start making progress over the next few months and that he suspected that President Bush will come up with his own timetable to measure the country's development.

"We've given the Iraqi government an opportunity here to have a normal country, and so far they've been a great disappointment to members of the Senate on both sides," McConnell said. "I hope the Iraqi government is beginning to get the message that in the end they have to step up if they want to save their country."

--CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich