He is the longest-serving US Republican faction leader in the Senate, but after almost two decades, Mitch McConnell plans to leave office in November. Recently there have been concerns about his health.
The Republican group leader in the Senate, the smaller of the two chambers in the US Congress, Mitch McConnell, has announced that he is retiring from his post. He said he would step down in November after nearly two decades, he said in a speech on the Senate floor. The AP agency first reported on McConnell’s decision.
The 82-year-old held the office for almost two decades, making him the longest-serving faction leader in the history of the US Senate.
“One of the most underrated talents in life is knowing when it is time to move on to the next chapter of life,” McConnell said in his speech. It is time for a new generation of leadership, McConnell continued. “That’s why I stand before you now (…) to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader in the Senate.” However, he will remain a normal senator until his term ends in January 2027.
“Strippers in US politics”
McConnell has been in the Senate since 1985. According to the Chamber of Congress, he has been elected to lead the Republicans nine times since 2006 – as majority or minority leader, depending on the outcome of the respective general elections and the parties’ seats in the Senate. The arch-conservative politician has long been considered one of the most important masterminds in US politics.
He finally fell out with ex-President Donald Trump, with whom he already had a difficult relationship, when Trump continued to spread the lie about a rigged election months after his defeat against Joe Biden in 2020 and his supporters took the Congress on January 6, 2021 stormed.
The Republican recently made headlines with health problems. Last year, McConnell fell during a private dinner at a hotel in Washington. He suffered a concussion and was treated in a hospital. As a result, he had misfires at press conferences. This fueled concerns about his health.
Ralf Borchard, ARD Washington, tagesschau, February 28, 2024 9:47 p.m