Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is planning to relinquish his leadership position in November. He has served as the Republican leader in the Senate for nearly two decades. McConnell is expected to announce his decision Wednesday in a speech in the Senate chamber.
The Associated Press reports:
McConnell, who turned 82 last week, was set to announce his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, a place where he looked in awe from its back benches in 1985 when he arrived and where he grew increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders.
“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 prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
His decision punctuates a powerful ideological transition underway in the Republican Party, from Ronald Reagan’s brand of traditional conservatism and strong international alliances, to the fiery, often isolationist populism of former President Donald Trump.
As with Joe Biden, questions have arisen about McConnell’s physical and mental wellness. Last year, he was absent for weeks following an injury he sustained from a fall. His absence prompted speculation that he would resign, and there were even whispers of preparations for a leadership vote. He reportedly fell multiple times last year, and Republicans in the Kentucky state legislature ensured that their Democrat governor wouldn’t be able to nominate a Democrat as his replacement in the event of a vacancy.
In July, McConnell inexplicably froze during a press conference, sparking speculation about how long he would remain in the Senate. However, his staff says that today’s announcement about McConnell’s leadership post is unrelated to his health, and that he intends to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027.
“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,” McConnell says in his prepared remarks. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”
McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision, which he has been contemplating for months, but he cited the recent death of his wife’s youngest sister as a moment that prompted introspection. “The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” McConnell said.
But his remarks were also light at times as he talked about the arc of his Senate career.
He noted that when he arrived in the Senate, “I was just happy if anybody remembered my name.” During his campaign in 1984, when Reagan was visiting Kentucky, the president called him “Mitch O’Donnell.”
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The timing of McConnell’s resignation from GOP leadership is likely more tied to the presidential election and the likely return of President Trump to the Oval Office. The two men have differing visions and it seems unlikely that they’d be able to work together as effectively as they did during Trump’s first term. McConnell and then-President Trump collaborated to transform the judiciary and successfully navigate three Supreme Court vacancies. But their relationship has been strained since Trump left office.