Washington — Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he’s stepping down as the upper chamber’s GOP leader after 17 years at the helm.
The Kentucky Republican, who turned 82 last week, announced his decision on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
“I always imagined a moment when I have total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work. A moment when I’m certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe,” he said. “That day arrived today.”
In emotional remarks, McConnell outlined his 40 years in the Senate, saying that when he was first elected to the chamber in 1984 he “never could have imagined” becoming the longest-serving senator to represent Kentucky in the state’s history.
“To serve Kentucky in the Senate has been the honor of my life, to lead my Republican colleagues has been the highest privilege,” he said, before announcing that this would be his last term as the Senate GOP leader.
The announcement comes as McConnell’s grip on his conference has seemed to slip in recent months, as former President Donald Trump’s influence has grown.
When the bulk of McConnell’s conference quickly rejected a bipartisan Senate-negotiated border security agreement at Trump’s urging in recent weeks, McConnell relented, noting that the dynamics had changed. And although McConnell succeeded in getting enough of his conference behind a foreign aid bill that includes funding for Ukraine, one of his key priorities days later, the chapter came with some of the most vocal opposition yet to McConnell’s continued leadership.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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