Sen. Mitch McConnell, 83, announced on Thursday that he will not be seeking reelection to the Senate.
‘Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,’ McConnell said on the Senate floor.
‘Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business right here,’ he said.
Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last,’ he continued.
McConnell, the longest-serving GOP Senate leader, first entered the Senate in 1985, but he has been battling a string of health issues and multiple falls in recent years.
He also has earned the ire of Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters after a years-long feud.
McConnell voted against three of Trump’s top Cabinet picks in recent weeks: Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy Jr.
He was the only Republican to vote against the confirmation of Gabbard and RFK Jr., spurring MAGA loyalists to call for his resignation.
McConnell, the longest-serving GOP Senate leader, has been battling a string of health issues and multiple falls
The Kentucky senator announced last year he would not seek to remain the Republican leader. It paved the way for a new GOP Senate leader for the first time since 2007.
But McConnell did not indicate what his future plans might be as he latest six-year term is set to expire in 2026.
McConnell has been spotted being pushed in a wheelchair by aides after his most recent fall on Capitol Hill.
A series of freezing episodes caught on camera in the summer of 2023 also raised questions about his ability to seek another term.
McConnell made a name for himself as a tough opponent to President Obama during his two terms in office where he blocked key aspects of the Obama agenda and refused to hold hearings for the president’s Supreme Court nominee ahead of the 2016 election.
When President Trump took office for his first term, McConnell was at times an ally and other times foe as the pair worked to pass legislation including the president’s 2017 tax law.
But the president took his frustrations out on the GOP Senate leader when he did not get his way in Congress.
President Trump with McConnell while he was Senate Majority Leader in 2018. The pair worked together to pass some of Trump’s priorities during his first term, but the Kentucky senator also received some of Trump’s nastiest attacks
McConnell with Obama in 2013 as the then-president met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Three years later, the Senate Majority leader blocked consideration of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland ahead of the 2016 presidential election
Then-President George W Bush with McConnell in 2007, the year he became Senate Republican leader
Trump lobbed some of his nastiest attacks against McConnell after the certification of the 2020 election for President Biden further making McConnell a target of the MAGA movement.
The president’s wrath has continued into his second term as McConnell has voted against some of his controversial nominees and criticized his stance on tariffs.
Trump told reporters he should not have been GOP leader and called McConnell a ‘bitter guy’ just last week.
McConnell on Thursday said looking to the future there are a number of reasons for pessimism but he said the ‘strength of the Senate is not one of them.’ He argued it’s the chamber where the minority can still require debate.
He said to the ‘disappointment’ of his critics, he is still on the job.
McConnell also took a moment during his speech on Thursday to talk about the importance of checks and balance in the federal government and the Senate’s role in confirming members of the judiciary.
‘When members of this body ignore, discount or pervert this fundamental duty, they do so not just at the peril of the Senate but by the whole nation,’ he said in what appeared to be an ominous warning to some Trump allies who have attacked the courts in recent weeks.
In response to McConnell’s announcement on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said his legacy is ‘one of remarkable service to the Senate, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and our nation.’
‘Over decades of tireless work, his mastery of Senate procedure, commitment to the institution, and dedication to the rule of law have shaped the course of American governance for generations to come,’ Thune said in a statement.
McConnell’s retirement from the Senate paves the way for a new senator from Kentucky, and several Republicans have already made their interest known.
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron immediately announced his bid, posting on X Thursday ‘it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Let’s do this.’
Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr wrote that he is considering a run ‘because Kentucky deserves a Senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First Agenda’ and that he would be making his decision soon.
Businessman Nate Morris has also signaled he is considering a run. He posted a video on X reacting to McConnell announcing his retirement.
‘One of the things we cannot have in Kentucky is another puppet for Mitch McConnell,’ he said.
Morris, who is a major GOP donor but has never held elected office, name dropped Barr and Cameron and accused them of failing to call out McConnell for sabotaging Trump’s agenda.
A Republican strategist told DailyMail.com that while attacks could be leveled against GOP candidates for working with McConnell in the past, it would be hard to find one that hasn’t had some relationship with him in Kentucky.
The chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm Sen. Tim Scott issued a statement on Thursday praising McConnell.
Scott also said Kentucky is a red state, so his committee is confident the next nominee ‘will be a principled, America First conservative.’
