U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell announced on Thursday, his 83rd birthday, that he will not seek reelection when his current term ends next year.
First elected in 1984, McConnell made the announcement from the Senate floor.
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate. Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here,” he said. “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.”
McConnell, a former Republican Majority Leader, will retire as the longest-serving Senate leader from any party. He has led the Republicans since 2007 both as majority and minority leader before giving up the position to Senator John Thune last year.
McConnell’s storied political career saw him guide the Senate chamber through a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul, presidential impeachment trials and fierce political fights.
In what may be a lasting feature of his legacy, McConnell aggressively sought to outfit federal courts with more conservative justices. His final years as head of the Senate Republicans saw repeated political clashes with an increasingly populist party under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
In recent years, McConnell had a series of health scares, including two separate incidents in which he froze while talking to reporters. He blamed those incidents on a previous concussion.
In his comments Thursday, McConnell said he decided last year that he would not run for reelection.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
