Sen. Mitch McConnell will resign in November from his post as Senate Republican leader, capping off a 17-year tenure in the high-profile role and setting off a battle to replace him that will help determine the direction of the GOP.
“It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” Mr. McConnell said Wednesday in a surprise speech on the Senate floor announcing his decision to step down as leader.
While many on Capitol Hill had speculated Mr. McConnell would depart from leadership after the 2024 elections, his announcement nonetheless came as a shock. Not even fellow GOP Senate leaders who had just met with him earlier in the day were not notified of his plans.
Mr. McConnell has been in the midst of negotiations with the House and White House on a foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine that pitted him against many lawmakers in his party but aligned him more closely with President Biden, who said Wednesday he was “sorry to hear” Mr. McConnell will step aside from leadership.
“I’ve trusted him and we have a great relationship. We fight like hell. But he has never, never, never misrepresented anything. I’m sorry to hear he’s stepping down,” the president said.
Mr. McConnell suffered a concussion in a fall in March and was absent from the Senate for several weeks. He then experienced instances of momentary paralysis, freezing up at press conferences and other public events. The problem was attributed to his concussion and stirred talks of his retirement.
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Mr. McConnell did not mention health problems on Wednesday but talked about turning 82 on Feb. 20.
“To serve Kentucky in the Senate has been the honor of my life. To lead my Republican colleagues has been my highest privilege,” Mr. McConnell said. “But one of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter.”
Mr. McConnell said he will remain in the Senate and serve out his seventh term, which ends in January 2027.
Mr. McConnell’s decision to step down from leadership follows unsuccessful efforts to push him out by a far-right faction in his conference, among them Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Mr. McConnell’s exit, some lawmakers said, will force Republicans to grapple with the party’s direction, particularly when it comes to government spending, which has contributed to soaring debt.
“Is there any legacy of Mitch McConnell’s that’s greater than opening a geyser of corporate money in American politics?” Mr. Hawley said. “I don’t think so. We need new leadership now. But this is better than nothing.”
Mr. McConnell has been increasingly at odds with the populist, conservative wing of the conference and is considered a foe of former President Donald Trump, the party’s likely nominee for the White House.
“We do need to have a very serious discussion about really what our conference stands for,” Mr. Johnson said.
Senate Republicans will elect Mr. McConnell’s successor in November, after the elections that will determine if they will regain the chamber’s majority. Among those likely to run for the position are the GOP Whip, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, Conference Chair John Barrasso of Wyoming and former Whip John Cornyn of Texas. Mr. Scott of Florida, who unsuccessfully challenged Mr. McConnell for the job in 2022, has not indicated whether he would try running again now that Mr. McConnell is stepping aside.
Mr. McConnell will depart as the chamber’s longest-serving party leader and is largely credited, with Mr. Trump, for ushering a conservative bench onto the Supreme Court as well as filling lower court vacancies with conservative picks.
In what will likely be remembered as one of his most pivotal moves while serving as majority leader, Mr. McConnell made the crucial decision to forgo a Senate vote on President Obama’s nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after his sudden death in 2016.
The seat was left vacant, allowing the Republican-led Senate to approve Mr. Trump’s nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch, the following year.
Mr. McConnell also successfully steered the difficult confirmation battles of high court nominees Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, locking in the 6-3 tilt that helped overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
“I don’t think anyone’s had a greater impact on the Senate in the last quarter century than Mitch McConnell, whether you agreed with the impact he had or not,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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