Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel has announced that he will be stepping down as Senate Minority Leader after a new leader is selected in November and takes control in January of 2025, and that he will retire from the Senate when his term ends in January of 2027. McConnell made the announcement on Wednesday, February 28, shortly after noon.
Speaking on the Senate floor in an announcement that reportedly caught many of his Senate colleagues by surprise, McConnell said, “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter. So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
Continuing, he explained that he does not plan on fully retiring until his term ends in January of 2027, but that he will be leaving the Senate leadership after this year’s election. He said, “I’m not going anywhere any time soon. However, I will complete my job my colleagues have given me until we select a new leader in November and they take the helm next January.”
Sen. McConnell then explained that his decision came after his sister-in-law, Angela Chao, died in a car accident, saying that her death reminded him of the importance of family and spending time with them before death.
“When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process. Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey to prioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind,” he said. He added, “I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer.”
McConnell then spoke about his time as a Senator, nothing that he has been in the Senate for over four decades at this point. “I have the honor of representing Kentucky and the Senate longer than anyone else in our state’s history. I just never could have imagined – never could have imagined that happening when I arrived here in 1984 at 42,” he said. He added. “I’m filled with heartfelt gratitude and humility for the opportunity.”
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Though some Republicans wished Mitch well, others said they were more than ready for him to go. Sen. Josh Hawley, for instance, posted about McConnell’s retirement on X, saying, “I called on McConnell to step down over a year ago. This is good news. But why wait so long – we need new leadership now.”
Similarly, GOP activist and X personality Scott Pressler said, “Oh my gosh. Mitch McConnell is stepping down as the Senate’s Republican leader in November. The grassroots asked for McCarthy, McDaniel, & McConnell to be replaced. You got your wish. This is our grand opportunity for real change. We can do this.”
Also joining in was The Federalist’s Sean Davis, who said, “McConnell needs to step down now. He’s not morally fit or mentally fit for the job. On top of hating his own voters, he clearly doesn’t have the mental capacity for the job, as his insane amnesty gambit for Biden proved. If he truly cared about the country, he’d retire today.”