The 82-year-old Kentucky senator is the longest-serving Senate majority leader in history.
U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has announced that he will step down from his role as leader, leaving a power vacuum at the top of the party he has led for nearly 17 years.
“I turned 82 last week. The end of my contribution is closer than I had hoped,” McConnell said Wednesday on the Senate floor, his voice breaking with emotion. “Father Time remains undefeated. I'm no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping my colleagues remember my name. It's time for the next generation of leadership.”
The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker played a huge role in helping former President Donald Trump solidify a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, halting recognition of the constitutional right to abortion and expanding abortion rights. This paved the way for a landmark ruling that was supported by conservatives. gun rights.
That's because McConnell has occasionally opposed Trump personally, particularly over Trump's actions before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and on handing aid to Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. This betrayed McConnell's vocal support for the move. Opposition from hardline Republican opponents.
Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, and McConnell, who previously held the post of majority leader, now serves as minority leader. McConnell said he will not run for Senate Republican leader in the party's November election, meaning his term as leader will end when the new Congress convenes in January.
McConnell's departure from leadership removes a central figure in negotiations with Democrats and the White House over a spending deal to keep the federal government funded and avoid a shutdown.
Al Jazeera's Shihab Rittansi, reporting from Washington, D.C., said McConnell was known as “someone who could count the votes and make sure they got the votes, and an effective party leader who could organize the caucus.”
“Of course, a big part of being a leader in Congress is not about policy, it's about raking in money. ” Ratansi added.
His steady command of the caucus contrasted with relatively new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Mr. McConnell froze twice last year while speaking publicly, raising questions about his ability to continue carrying out his important duties. Those concerns were not allayed by the Congressional physician's Aug. 31 memo allowing McConnell to continue working.
He has indicated that he intends to serve out his remaining term in the Senate, which runs until January 2027.
However, his resignation from the leadership is expected to come in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election on November 5, when Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, and the hard-line House Freedom Caucus It would mark a step back for our well-ordered compatriots in response to the noisy approach of the caucus. , the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate.
The Republican Party now needs to elect a new leader, and pressure from conservatives to take a hard line against a moderate spending deal with Democrats could weigh even more heavily on budget negotiations and the leadership race.
Mr. McConnell announced his plan on the Senate floor the morning after Mr. Trump won Michigan's Republican primary, continuing his meteoric rise to the party's nomination.
Asked about the timing of Mr. McConnell's move, one former senior Senate Republican aide said, “I think the reopening of the Trump chapter signals his exit from the stage.”
The second-senior Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota, is expected to vie for the party's top spot, along with Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and John Barrasso of Wyoming.