A top Republican leader wants to see a statue honoring U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) added to the Kentucky Capitol rotunda, a move that would surely anger hardcore conservatives who have long considered McConnell to be a Republican In Name Only (RINO). Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers of Manchester stated on March 26, 2026, that he plans to file a resolution for the statue with the Historic Properties Advisory Commission.
McConnell, 84, was first elected to the Senate in 1984. He has since become the longest-serving Senate leader in the country, having led the Republican caucus for almost 20 years. In 2025, McConnell announced he would be ending his career after finishing his current term. Stivers went on to explain that Senate Resolution 204 “does not carry the force of law” but he filed it to “start the discussion” about adding the statue.
“I do this because there’s not been anybody more influential in the last century or this century in the state of Kentucky — or maybe in the history of the state of Kentucky — as Sen. McConnell has been,” Stivers stated. “People won’t understand the influence that he has had probably until long after he has been gone, except maybe for people who watch politics and are involved in political situations like we are.”
According to the Kentucky Lantern, the Kentucky Capitol closed last summer to allow for a staggering $300 million in renovations. The work is expected to take several years to complete. The report said that in 2024, the General Assembly gave itself final say over permanent displays to be featured in the rotunda. The central part of the building already contains statues of four prominent Kentuckians, including former President Abraham Lincoln, one of the most well-known Republicans in American history.
The law also states that the legislature has to approve the installation or removal of any statue after the commission submits an official proposal. The law was created following the controversial removal of a statue of Kentucky-born Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America. The statue was removed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who submitted a request to the commission to remove it. They voted in favor of doing so.
The Kentucky Lantern then reached out to a spokesperson for McConnell, but as of this writing, they have not received an answer to a request for comment about the statue. Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time the idea of putting up a statue in honor of McConnell has come up. Republican Rep. Andy Barr floated the idea during a 2024 groundbreaking ceremony on the Republican Party of Kentucky headquarters, which is also named after the longtime senator.
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Commenters on social media platform X shared their thoughts about McConnell receiving a statue. One replied to the story with an AI-generated image of a turtle with its head replaced by McConnell’s, with the caption, “Is it going to be a turtle?” Another featured an image of McConnell and a headline referencing his “freezing” spells that said, “They already have a Mitch McConnell statue. It’s nearly life like.”
A third user was less than thrilled by the idea, referring to the idea of McConnell receiving a statue as a “slap in the face,” going on to add, “Truth is Turtlehead worked with Pelosi to pull off J6. Both should be at Gitmo.” Someone else slammed the senator for being a constant thorn in President Donald Trump’s side, writing, “He’s been the biggest obstacle to Trump and the American people in the GOP for the last 10 years. That is ridiculous!”