Mitch McConnell Is Stepping Down as Republican Senate Leader
Mitch McConnell is stepping down from his post leading Republicans in the Senate.
The Kentucky Republican announced on Wednesday that he’ll leave his leadership role in November. He will serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2027. “One of life’s most under-appreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in an address before the Senate. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
“Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time,” the Senate minority leader added. “I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them.”
McConnell, 82, has been the top Republican in the Senate since 2007. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, making him the longest-serving senator in United States history.
McConnell and Donald Trump have long been at odds, mostly because the former president believes McConnell has been too kind to Democrats. He has accused McConnell of being “disloyal,” called him an “absolute loser,” and even wrote that he “has a DEATH WISH” after he voted to approve legislation sponsored by Democrats in 2022.
Trump has also repeatedly leveled racists attacks against McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who was Trump’s Transportation Secretary before she resigned following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. McConnell said in announcing his decision to step down from leadership on Wednesday that “this has been a particularly difficult time for my family,” noting that Chao’s younger sister died recently.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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