Kentucky Republican Senator and longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election when his current term ends in 2026.
The news closes his career as the longest-serving Kentucky Senate leader in US history and the longest-serving Kentucky Senate.
The 83-year-old lawmaker, who first took office in 1984, said he had decided to quit last year.
“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians sent me to the Senate, and every day during that time I am humbled by the trust they have placed on me to do their business here,” McConnell said, “and every day I am humbled by the trust they have placed on me to do their business here,” he said. told lawmakers on the Senate floor. “To represent our Federation has been a once-in-a-lifetime honor. I will not seek this honor for the eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
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McConnell was elected as a Senate minority leader in 2006 and became a majority leader in 2014. He resigned from his position after the November election and was replaced by Senator John Tune.
McConnell was known to use filibusters to obstruct certain legal or judicial appointees during the Obama administration. During the first Donald Trump administration, McConnell was committed to passing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Employment Act, securing confirmations for current Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett I did.
McConnell supported Trump in both perm-each trials, but accused the president of being morally responsible for the January 6, 2021 riots in the capital.
The former Senate leader also compromised to work with Democrats on many issues, such as advancement. Gun Control Request And bipartisan 1.7 trillion dollar omnibus building In 2022, and lead Passing debt-limited transactions 2023.
McConnell raised concerns twice in recent years Apparently freezes during newspaper conference. He also suffered from a fall at the beginning of the month and has been using a wheelchair mostly ever since.
A Republican senator from Kentucky Rand Paul posted Thursday afternoon.
Syndicated with permission From the central square.
