Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power for almost two decades, said on Wednesday, February 28, that he would step down from the position in November.
"One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter," he said in prepared remarks, obtained by The Associated Press (AP). "I stand before you today, Mr. President and my colleagues to say this will be my last term as Republican leader."
McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, "albeit from a different seat in the chamber." "As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work," McConnell wrote in his prepared remarks. "A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today."
McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision, which he has been contemplating for months, but he cited the recent death of his wife's youngest sister as a moment that prompted introspection. "The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer," McConnell said.
McConnell, who turned 82 last week, announced his decision in the well of the Senate, a place to which he first arrived in 1985, and where he has grown increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders. His decision punctuates a powerful ideological transition underway in the Republican Party, from Ronald Reagan’s brand of conservatism to the populism of former President Donald Trump.
The senator had been under increasing pressure from the restive, and at times hostile wing of his party that has aligned firmly with Trump. The two have been estranged since December 2020, when McConnell refused to abide Trump’s lie that the election of Democrat Joe Biden as president was the product of fraud.
McConnell endorsed Reagan’s view of America’s role in the world and the senator has persisted in face of opposition, including from Trump, that Congress should include a foreign assistance package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine. "I am unconflicted about the good within our country and the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world," McConnell said. Against long odds he managed to secure 22 Republican votes for the package now being considered by the House.
"Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them," McConnell said. "That said, I believe more strongly than ever that America’s global leadership is essential to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. For as long as I am drawing breath on this earth I will defend American exceptionalism."
"I love the Senate," he wrote in his prepared remarks. "It has been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it." Yet, he added, "Father Time remains undefeated. I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership." There would be a time to reminisce, he said, but not today. "I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed."