Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to step down in November: ‘Time for the next generation’
US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday he would step down from his leadership role, creating a power vacuum in the party he has led for nearly 17 years, longer than any other party in the chamber’s history. More than a leader.
“I turned 82 last week. The end of my career is closer than I’d like,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Father Time is undefeated. I am no longer the young man who sits back and hopes colleagues will remember my name. It is time for the next generation to lead.”
The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker played a big role in helping former President Donald Trump win a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, paving the way for landmark decisions by conservatives ending recognition of the constitutional right to abortion and abortion . Gun rights.
It at times faulted McConnell’s personal antagonism toward Trump – notably Trump’s conduct before the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 – as well as McConnell’s attempts to aid Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. The continued vocal support was also wrong. Opposition from staunch Republican opponents.
Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, with McConnell now serving as minority leader after previously holding the position of majority leader. McConnell said he will not run for Senate Republican leader in the November party elections, meaning he will end his time as leader when the new Congress convenes in January.
McConnell’s departure from leadership would eliminate a central character in negotiations with Democrats and the White House on spending deals to keep the federal government funded and prevent a shutdown. His steady command over his caucus was in contrast to the relatively newly minted Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who has struggled to lead his slim majority.
McConnell fainted twice last summer while making public remarks, raising questions about his ability to continue the duties of his high-powered job. Those concerns were not assuaged by the Congressional physician’s August 31 note, which cleared McConnell to return to work.
He indicated that he plans to serve out the remainder of his term in the Senate, which runs through January 2027. But his exit from the leadership would mark an orderly counterpart’s step back from the turbulent approach of Donald Trump, who is at the forefront. The radical House Freedom Caucus is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, and ahead of the November 5 US election for president, the full House and a third of the Senate.
Now that Republicans have to elect a new party leader, conservative pressure to come down hard on a moderate spending compromise with Democrats could weigh more heavily on budget negotiations and the leadership election.
McConnell announced his plans in the Senate the morning after Trump won the Michigan Republican primary, continuing his campaign toward the party’s nomination.
Asked about the timing of McConnell’s move, a former high-ranking Senate Republican aide said, “I think the reopening of the Trump chapter is indicative of his step out to the left.”
McConnell isolates Trump
McConnell attacked Trump, who faced impeachment twice for falsely claiming that widespread fraud led to his loss in the 2020 election, the subject of a speech by the then-President on January 6, 2021, to the U.S. Shortly before the attack on the Capitol.
The Senate leader had voted to acquit Trump of incitement of insurrection, but singled him out in a Senate speech by saying he was “practically and morally responsible” for the Capitol riot.
“American citizens attacked their own government,” McConnell said at the time. “He did it because the most powerful man on Earth fed him baseless lies – because he was angry that he had lost the election.”
McConnell’s hard-line approach to governing was on display as early as 2016 when he blocked Republican obstruction of then-President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to a vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
He argued that the presidential election in November was too close and that voters should be left to decide following the High Court’s direction in casting votes for the president.
Without missing a beat, McConnell struck again in 2020, this time just weeks before another presidential election. Taking the opposite approach, he succeeded in getting then-President Trump to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, strengthening a 6-3 conservative majority.
He happily adopted the nickname “Grim Reaper” for his desire to disrupt Democratic goals.
The No. 2 Senate Republican senators John Thune, John Cornyn and John Barrasso were expected to compete for the party’s top post. It was unclear which other senators might jump into the race.