MITCH McConnell has announced he will step down as Senate leader of the Republican party in November.
McConnell, who has maintained power over the GOP for nearly two decades, revealed his decision on Wednesday in the Senate chamber.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in a prepared statement, according to the Associated Press.
“So, I stand before you today… to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.
“As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” he said.
“A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”
McConnell, who turned 82 last week, gave no specific reason for why he’s leaving his position but cited the recent death of his wife’s youngest sister played a role.
“When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process,” he said.
The Kentucky Republican has served in the US Senate since 1985 and as GOP leader since 2007.
“I love the Senate. It has been my life,” McConnell said in his impassioned speech.
“There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it. Father time remains undefeated.
“I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership.”
McConnell said he plans to serve out the remainder of his Senate term, which is set to end in January 2027.
“I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics, and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm with which they have become accustomed,” he added.
President Joe Biden wished his “friend” McConnell well after he made his announcement.
“American Democracy is based on elected representatives coming together and bridging their different points of view to find common ground on behalf of the American people,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
“I’m proud that my friend Mitch McConnell and I have been able to do that for many years, working together in good faith even though we have many political disagreements.
“During his many years of leadership, we could always speak with each other honestly and put the country ahead of ourselves.
“America is now being rebuilt by the biggest infrastructure law in nearly 70 years.
“We’re making critical investments so our economy can outcompete China. We’re standing up for our values and our most urgent national security interests in the world because of it.
“America is making tremendous strides towards curing cancer. There is nothing America cannot do when we do it together.
“Mitch has lived the American dream, overcoming polio and going on to become the longest-serving Senate leader in American history. Jill and I wish the best to Mitch and Elaine.”
HEALTH CONCERNS
McConnell’s aides dismissed the rumors that the longest-serving Senate caucus leader in history is stepping down due to health reasons.
Twice last summer, McConnell briefly froze up and was unable to speak to reporters at news conferences.
He also suffered a concussion in March 2023 after falling at a dinner event at a hotel in Washington, DC.
Before that, in August 2019, McConnell fractured his shoulder and underwent surgery and weeks of physical therapy after suffering a fall outside his home in Louisville, Kentucky.
Then, in October 2020, he made headlines after photos showing his hands bruised and bandaged emerged.
RACE FOR GOP SENATE LEADER
A race to succeed McConnell will now burst open in the months ahead.
McConnell will leave his leadership in the middle of a presidential election, where his former ally turned foe, Donald Trump, is the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination.
The former president and McConnell worked closely during Trump’s first term, reshaping the Supreme Court and federal judiciary system to a more conservative image.
However, their relationship was fractured over the dramatic events of the January 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol and Trump’s refusal to accept the Electoral College votes.
McConnell assigned blame and responsibility to Trump and said he should be held accountable for his actions through the criminal justice system.
But McConnell ultimately did not vote to convict the former president, citing constitutional concerns.
The two have not spoken since December 2020, with Trump previously referring to McConnell as “The Old Crow.”
Despite their friction, The New York Times reported that people close to the two are working on McConnell endorsing the former president’s candidacy.
Mitch McConnell's road to Republican Senate leader
- Mitch McConnell was born in Sheffield, Alabama, on February 20, 1942.
- He enlisted in the US Army Reserve as a private in Louisville, Kentucky.
- He got his start in politics in 1968 as a chief legislative assistant to Senator Marlow Cook in Washington, DC.
- In 1971, McConnell returned to Kentucky, where he worked on Tom Emberton’s campaign for state governor.
- In October 1974, McConnell returned to the nation’s capital to fill a position as deputy assistant attorney general under President Gerald Ford.
- McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984, making history as the first Republican challenger in the country to defeat an incumbent Democrat and the first GOP member to win a statewide Kentucky race since 1968.
- Republicans voted McConnell the party’s leader in 2007.
- After Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 Senate elections, McConnell became the Senate Majority Leader.
- In June 2018, he became the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in the history of the United States.