Feb 28, 2024 - 19:13
By edition.cnn.com

Mitch McConnell to step down from GOP leadership position in the Senate

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will step down as GOP leader in November, the Kentucky Republican announced on the Senate floor Wednesday, marking the end of an era on Capitol Hill and setting up a high-stakes race for his successor.

He will continue to serve in the US Senate but will allow “the next generation of leadership” to take the helm of the Senate Republican Conference.

McConnell, who turned 82 last week, said, “the end of my contributions are closer than I prefer.”

McConnell has long been a towering figure in Washington, DC, and has made history over the course of his political tenure. In 2023, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in history.

However, in recent months, McConnell has found in himself at odds with members of his conference particularly over the issue of additional US funding for the war in Ukraine. And McConnell has a strained relationship with the Republican Party’s front-runner for the presidential nomination: Donald Trump. CNN reported in January, the two hadn’t spoken in more than three years.

“As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” McConnell said in his floor remarks. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. That day arrived today.”

He received a standing ovation at the end of his remarks, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, approached him afterwards to shake his hand. He was followed by many of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle, receiving a hug from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.