He is finally retiring.
Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has announced that he will not seek another term in office after more than 40 years of service. McConnell, who recently turned 83, made the announcement on the Senate floor, stating that his current term would be his last. He expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to represent Kentucky and serve in the Senate for over four decades. His current term will end at the close of the 119th Congress on January 3, 2027.
McConnell led Senate Republicans for 18 years, stepping down from his role at the end of the 118th Congress. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 2007 to 2015 and again from 2021 to 2025, and was Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021. In his farewell speech, McConnell reflected on his time in the Senate, describing it as an immense honor to participate in significant legislative work. The chamber responded with applause following his remarks.
One of McConnell’s most notable legacies is his influence on the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, McConnell refused to hold confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, arguing that the vacancy should be filled by the next president due to the proximity of the election. When Donald Trump won the 2016 election, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to replace Scalia. McConnell invoked the “nuclear option” to bypass a Democratic filibuster and confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority.
McConnell played a central role in confirming two other Supreme Court justices during Trump’s presidency: Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Despite sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, McConnell condemned efforts to block the nomination and ensured Kavanaugh’s confirmation. In 2020, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell pushed through Barrett’s nomination just weeks before the presidential election, citing the Republican majority as a mandate to proceed with the confirmation.
In recent years, McConnell has emerged as a vocal critic of some of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees. He opposed the confirmations of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, positioning himself as one of the few Republican senators to challenge Trump’s appointments.
