Senator Mitch McConnell announced he will not run for re-election next year, bringing an end to a decades-long career for a Republican leader who marshaled his party through multiple administrations with a singleminded focus on power that enraged his critics and delighted his allies.
The Associated Press broke the news of McConnell’s retirement on Thursday, which marked the Republican senator’s 83rd birthday. McConnell formally announced his retirement in a Senate floor speech on Thursday.
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said.
“Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business right here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
The announcement comes one year after McConnell said he would step down as Senate Republican leader after nearly two decades in the post, making him the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history. McConnell became Republican leader in 2007, after first joining the Senate in 1985.
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