Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader and the most consequential Republican senator of his generation, said Thursday he will not seek reelection next year.
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in a midday floor speech. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they placed in me to do their business right 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.”
McConnell’s announcement did not come as a major surprise in Washington or his home state: After stepping down as GOP leader last year, he gave few indications he would pursue another term.
McConnell turned 83 on Thursday. He has recently suffered several health challenges, including a fall taken while leaving the Senate chamber earlier this month that has left him using a wheelchair. He spoke in a notably halting voice as he addressed his colleagues Thursday.
“I grew up reading about the greatness of Henry Clay, but there were times when the prospect of etching my name into his desk and this chamber felt like more of a long shot than making it to the major leagues,” he said Thursday. “The only appropriate thing to take away today, apart from my healthy dose of pride, is my immense gratitude for the opportunity to take part in the consequential business of the Senate and the nation.”
Many of McConnell’s Republican colleagues, as well as Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of other Democrats, gave him a standing ovation after his speech.
First elected in 1986 in a hard-fought victory over Democratic incumbent Walter Huddleston, McConnell spent 18 years as the Senate’s top Republican leaders, including four years as majority leader from 2017 through 2020.
In that time, in what will likely be his most lasting legacy, McConnell pursued an aggressive campaign to remake the federal courts in a more conservative image. But his final years as GOP leader were marked by a excalating clash with the emerging populist wing of the Republican Party led by President Donald Trump.
McConnell, notably, condemned Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol but did not vote to impeach him for it in the weeks that followed.
Several Kentucky Republicans, including Rep. Andy Barr, have made moves to prepare to enter the race in anticipation of McConnell’s retirement.
Barr did not mention McConnell in a statement released through his House campaign after the retirement announcement: “I am considering running for Senate because Kentucky deserves a Senator who will fight for President Trump and the America First Agenda. I’ve done that every day in the House and would do so in the Senate. I’m encouraged by the outpouring of support and my family and I will be making a decision about our future soon.”
