LOUISVILLE, KY – Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he wonβt seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.
McConnell, theΒ longest-serving Senate party leaderΒ in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he was set to address colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.
His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forgeΒ a conservative Supreme CourtΒ and steered the Senate throughΒ tax cuts,Β presidential impeachment trialsΒ and fierce political fights.
βSeven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,β McConnell said in prepared remarks provided in advance to the AP. βEvery day in between Iβve been humbled by the trust theyβve placed in me to do their business here. 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.β
McConnell, first elected in 1984, intends to serve the remainder of his term ending in January 2027. The Kentuckian has dealt withΒ a series of medical episodesΒ in recent years, including injuries sustained from falls and times whenΒ his face briefly frozeΒ while he was speaking.
The senator plans to deliver his speech in a chamber the famously taciturn McConnell revered as a young intern long before joining its back benches as a freshman lawmaker in the mid-1980s. His dramatic announcement comes almost a year after his decision to relinquishΒ his leadership postΒ after the November 2024 election.Β South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a top McConnell deputy, replaced him as majority leader.
