Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will step down as Senate GOP leader in November, ending a record 17-year tenure at the helm.
Mr. McConnell has been Senate GOP leader since 2007. He was majority leader of the Senate between 2015 and 2017 and minority leader between 2007 and 2015 and again in 2021.
Mr. McConnell reiterated that he is not leaving the Senate, though he said he will be in “a different seat in the chamber” as opposed to the seat in the front row where he currently sits.
“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,” said Mr. McConnell on the Senate floor moments after the news broke. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”
Mr. McConnell said that the death of his sister-in-law, Angela, a few weeks ago caused him to reevaluate himself.
“Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey to prioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind,” he said.
In his speech, Mr. McConnell humbly reflected on the past albeit briefly as he said that today was not the day to reminisce on his career.
“The truth is, when I got here I was just happy if anybody remembered my name,” he said. “President Reagan called me Mitch O'Donald.”
This move comes as Mr. McConnell, 82, is the only member of GOP congressional leadership to not endorse former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner. Mr. McConnell has had a tense relationship with President Trump.
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.
However, Mr. McConnell said, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
In what was an apparent shot at President Trump and his supporters, in addition to Democrats, Mr. McConnell remarked: “There are many challenges we must meet to deliver for the American people, and each will have my full effort and attention. 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’ve become accustomed.”
But, as it pertains to being the leader of the Senate GOP, Mr. McConnell said, “It’s time for the next generation of leadership.”
In response to a question from The Epoch Times in September, Mr. McConnell, who had recently experienced two “freezing” incidents in which he appeared unable to speak, said he had no plans to step down as senator or GOP leader.
Senators on both sides of the aisle gave Mr. McConnell a standing ovation after he concluded his remarks.
Likely candidates to replace Mr. McConnell as Republican leader include Senate GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).
The announcement comes just weeks after Mr. McConnell and most Senate Republicans voted against a package that included aid to Ukraine and Israel in addition to border security measures. However, he and other Republicans voted for a bill that included just the assistance to those countries and the Indo-Pacific.
In addition to being the longest-serving Senate GOP leader, he has been the longest-serving senator from Kentucky.
Prior to entering the Senate, Mr. McConnell was the judge/executive of Jefferson County and was in the Department of Justice under President Gerald Ford.
Members of Congress paid tribute to Mr. McConnell.
