Sen. Mitch McConnell announces retirement, won’t seek reelection in 2026

21 hrs ago

Ray Bogan Political Correspondent

By Ray Bogan (Political Correspondent)

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced his retirement at the end of his current term, marking the end of a 40-year Senate career during which he transformed the federal courts. He will not seek reelection in 2026.
McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history, stepped down as Republican leader in 2024 due to health issues and to make way for someone more aligned with President Donald Trump’s ideology.
He announced his retirement on his 83rd birthday, emphasizing his commitment to finishing his term and addressing unfinished business.

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Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he is retiring at the end of his current term and will not seek reelection in 2026. It marks the end of a 40-year tenure in the Senate, during which he oversaw a transformation of the nation’s federal courts.

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“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in a speech first shared with The Associated Press. “Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve 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.”

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How long has McConnell been a lawmaker?

McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history. He was elected to head the Republican conference nine times between 2006 and 2023.

It is an extraordinary rise and unmatched retention of power for a man who began his career on Capitol Hill as an intern and worked his way up to chief legislative assistant and deputy assistant attorney general during the Ford administration.

McConnell stepped down as Republican leader at the end of 2024. He said this was to make way for someone younger, who was more aligned with President Donald Trump’s ideology.

McConnell has also experienced a series of medical episodes in recent years. He recently fell while exiting a meeting and was seen in a wheelchair later that afternoon.

In 2024, he froze while speaking with reporters on multiple occasions. The incidents were caught on camera and led many to ask whether he was still strong enough to be the Senate Republican leader.

Recent memorable moments of McConnell’s career

McConnell shepherded three of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees through the Senate, solidifying the court’s 6-3 conservative majority. That would not have been possible had he not kept the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat open by denying former Attorney General and federal judge Merrick Garland a nomination hearing in the final year of the Obama administration.

McConnell also helped confirm hundreds of judges to the appellate and district courts.

McConnell diverged from Trump on foreign policy. He fully supports Ukraine and wants to continue American financial and military support for the country. His support hasn’t swayed, even after President Trump called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections”.

“Thanks to Ronald Reagan’s determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate,” McConnell said in his prepared remarks. “But since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.”

McConnell made the announcement about his retirement on his 83rd birthday.

“The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence,” he said in his speech. “And, to the disappointment of my critics, I’m still here on the job.”