Democrats Sorry to See McConnell Go as Biden Touts ‘Great Relationship’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 27, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) Wednesday announcement that he’s stepping down as Senate GOP leader drew a flurry of reactions, with top Democrats expressing a mixture of regret that the Kentucky Republican is stepping down and appreciation for all the times they worked together.

Mr. McConnell, who has been the Senate Republican leader since 2007, announced a “sunset to his work” in the leadership role, though he clarified that he’s not retiring completely. Starting in November, he said he will occupy a “different seat” in Congress’ upper chamber.

Word of Mr. McConnell’s forthcoming departure was met with various reactions.

President Joe Biden praised Mr. McConnell as an honorable political adversary.

“He and I have trust, we’ve got a great relationship, we fight like hell but he never, never, never misrepresented anything,” President Biden said during an event at the White House. “I’m sorry to hear he’s stepping down.”

President Biden and Mr. McConnell served together in the Senate for over 20 years.

‘Working Together’

Another top Democrat to express sympathy for the departing GOP leader was Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said the two of them had their differences but at key junctures joined forces on issues such as COVID-19 stimulus, certifying President Biden’s 2020 victory, and sending money to Ukraine.

“During my years in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and I rarely saw eye to eye when it came to our politics or our policy preferences,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.

“But I am very proud that we both came together in the last few years to lead the Senate forward at critical moments when our country needed us, like passing the CARES Act in the early days of the COVID pandemic, finishing our work to certify the election on January 6th, and more recently working together to fund the fight for Ukraine,” he continued.

“I know it’s been a difficult year for him and his family and I wish them the very best,” Mr. Schumer added.

While a majority (57 percent) of Republican voters were opposed to the roughly $2 trillion CARES Act, polling shows that Democrats overwhelmingly supported it, with 94 percent expressing their backing for a bill that poured money in a massive stream to ease the economic hardship of the pandemic. Critics point out that COVID relief funds also led to billions of dollars in financial fraud.

Some Republicans were also opposed to the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of votes for President Biden and are now against sending more taxpayer dollars to fund the Ukraine war.

Other Reactions

A number of Republican lawmakers struck a similar tone to President Biden and Mr. Schumer in reacting to Mr. McConnell’s announcement.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) praised Mr. McConnell for being “steadfast in his defense of conservative values, promoting a conservative judiciary, invigorating economic growth, insisting on America’s defense of freedom, and protecting the rights of all Americans.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he would be remembered as “one of the most effective leaders in the history of the U.S. Senate,” while praising Mr. McConnell for shaping the federal judiciary “in a conservative fashion” thanks to “sheer force of will.”

(L–R) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) arrive to meet with senators in the Old Senate Chamber in Washington on Sept. 21, 2023. Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images

Some Republicans on the party’s right flank, such as the House Freedom Caucus, had words of criticism.

“No need to wait till November… Senate Republicans should IMMEDIATELY elect a *Republican* Minority Leader,” the House Freedom Caucus said in a post on X, while singling out Mr. McConnell’s support for more Ukraine funding by labeling him as the Democrats’ “Co-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-Ukraine).”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has opposed Mr. McConnell on various issues, expressed a similar sentiment.

“I called on McConnell to step down over a year ago. This is good news. But why wait so long - we need new leadership now,” he said in a post on X.

Mr. McConnell’s departure will end a record 17-year tenure as Senate GOP leader.

For his part, Mr. McConnell said Wednesday that the moment had finally arrived when he had “total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work” and was ready to announce his stepping down.

Under Mr. McConnell, the GOP was able to put its conservative imprint on the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court, which led to momentous decisions such as the overturning of Roe. v. Wade and deeming affirmative action unconstitutional.

Mr. McConnell refused to have a hearing for Merrick Garland to succeed conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. Conservative Justice Neal Gorsuch ended up filling the seat. Other accomplishments have included tax reform.

Mr. McConnell has been in the Senate since 1985. He is up for reelection in 2026. It is publicly unknown if he will run again.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.