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WASHINGTON —Mitch McConnell, one of Washington's most long-standing, powerful and pugnacious political figures, said Wednesday he is stepping down from his leadership role in November after the national presidential and congressional elections in the U.S.
The Senate Republican leader was the longest-serving Senate leader in history, with a 17-year tenure as both the leader of the upper chamber of Congress when Republicans were in the majority, and leader of the Republican caucus when Democrats were in control.
But he told his colleagues he knew it was time to move on.
"I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I prefer. Father Time remains undefeated. I'm no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues remember my name. It's time for the next generation of leadership," McConnell said on the Senate floor, his voice breaking with emotion.
"One of life's most underappreciated talents is to know when it's time to move on to life's next chapter," McConnell said, adding that he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, "albeit from a different seat in the chamber."
Survived Republican Party's upheaval
McConnell has maintained his political clout during an upheaval in the Republican Party now dominated by former President Donald Trump, who is closing in on the party's 2024 nomination to become the party's presidential standard bearer for the third straight election cycle.
The two men were never close during Trump's single term as president. Trump often derided McConnell, even though McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, was part of Trump's Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation, and McConnell shepherded Trump's three Supreme Court nominees through the Senate confirmation process, giving conservatives a firm 6-3 majority on the high court.
McConnell and Trump have not spoken since December 2020 after the Republican Senate leader accepted the reality that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump's 2020 reelection bid and that Trump, despite his claims to this day, was not cheated out of another term in the White House because of voting irregularities. McConnell blamed Trump for fomenting the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, seeking to block certification of Biden's victory.
The House of Representatives impeached Trump for his actions encouraging his supporters to "fight like hell" at the Capitol to block Biden's victory.
But when Trump was tried in the Senate after he had left office, McConnell voted to acquit him, arguing that since Trump was no longer in office, he could not be convicted and removed from office through the impeachment process.
Still regarded as powerful player
Even as he heads to a lesser role in the Senate, McConnell is a critical player in current legislative issues, meeting Tuesday at the White House with Biden and other congressional leaders over the need to pass a funding measure to keep the government from partially shutting down Friday at midnight.
McConnell also pushed through the Senate $60 billion in new funding for Ukraine in its two-year war with Russia, although the aid legislation is stalemated in the House.
Despite the ongoing political turmoil in Washington, McConnell said in his valedictory, "I am unconflicted about the good within our country and the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world."
Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of McConnell's long-time political foes in the Senate, said in a statement, "During my years in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and I rarely saw eye to eye when it came to our politics or our policy preferences. But I am very proud that we both came together in the last few years to lead the Senate forward at critical moments when our country needed us."
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement, "Senator McConnell will be remembered as one of the most effective leaders in the history of the U.S. Senate. He passionately believes in a strong America leading from the front and has been uncompromising in his view that we must deal with threats rather than wish them away."