U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced plans to step down from his leadership role within the Republican party. The Kentucky lawmaker, who at 82 is the longest-serving Senate caucus leader in the nation’s history, divulged his plans following the Senate Republicans’ weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol.
In an address to the Senate, McConnell stated his intention to forfeit his leadership role within the party as of this November, however, he does not intend to vacate his Senate seat. McConnell, who was reelected for his term in 2021, will maintain his position within the chamber until the end of his term in January 2027, remaining a significant figure in Republican politics.
Earlier this week a Senate colleague told The Hill that McConnell was considering an endorsement for President Donald Trump.
While McConnell voted to acquit Trump at his impeachment trial following the January 6 attack on Congress, he later criticized the former president, calling him “practically and morally responsible” for the violence. “He didn’t get away with anything yet,” McConnell asserted.
Republicans remain skeptical, with one anonymous senator remarking to The Hill, “I don’t know if his political mind can overcome the personal [issues] enough. If anybody can do it, he can probably do it.”