Republican Senator Mitch McConnell has announced that he will not seek reelection next year. This decision marks the end of a long career during which he championed conservative causes but faced challenges from the growing populism within the GOP, spearheaded by President Donald Trump.
McConnell, who holds the record as the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history, revealed his choice on his 83rd birthday. He shared that he would not run for another term in Kentucky and intends to retire at the end of his current term. Before his scheduled address to colleagues on the Senate floor, he disclosed his decision to The Associated Press.
This announcement signals the conclusion of a remarkable career marked by McConnell’s role as a master strategist. Throughout his tenure, he played a pivotal part in securing a conservative majority in the Supreme Court and navigating the Senate through significant events such as tax cuts, presidential impeachment trials, and intense political battles.
“Thanks to Ronald Reagan’s determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate,” McConnell said in his prepared remarks.
“But since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it.
“So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.”
McConnell and Trump were partners during Trump’s first term, but the relationship was severed after McConnell blamed Trump for “disgraceful” acts in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by his supporters. A momentary thaw in 2024 when McConnell endorsed Trump didn’t last.
Riots, violence and deaths after Capitol stormed
Last week, Trump referred to McConnell as a “very bitter guy” after McConnell, who battled polio as a child, opposed vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr’s confirmation as the nation’s top health official.
McConnell referred to Trump as a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist” in a biography of the senator by The Associated Press’ deputy Washington bureau chief, Michael Tackett.
