Senator Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, announced on Thursday he will not be seeking reelection in 2026.
McConnell intends to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2027. The former Senate minority leader announced the news on his 83rd birthday.
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in prepared remarks on the Senate floor. “Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. 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.”
The Kentucky Republican has experienced several medical episodes in recent years, most recently including two falls inside the Senate chamber earlier this month that have left him using a wheelchair to get around the Capitol. He has also frozen at least twice during press events, sparking concerns about his deteriorating health.
First elected in 1984, McConnell will have served seven terms in the Senate for 42 years by the time he retires.
McConnell was elected leader in 2007 and led the Senate Republican caucus through several rounds in the majority and minority. He helped shepherd through historic tax cuts during President Donald Trump’s first term and shaped the present conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court by guiding the nominations of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to Senate confirmation.
Despite working together, McConnell and Trump had a falling out in part due to the January 6 Capitol riot. The pair have had a contentious relationship ever since, in part due to McConnell’s skepticism of the ascendant isolationist wing of the MAGA movement.
During his speech, McConnell vowed to use the time remaining to him to help rebuild American military power.
“Thanks to Ronald Reagan’s determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate,” McConnell said. “But since then, we’ve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.”
The longtime senator recently opposed Trump’s more high-profile nominees — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It remains to be seen how he votes on FBI director nominee Kash Patel later Thursday.
McConnell was replaced by Senator John Thune (R., S.D.) as the majority leader after the 2024 election.
Representative Andy Barr (R., Ky.) is considering running for McConnell’s open Senate seat during the 2026 midterm elections. Barr has not yet announced his potential run, which is likely now that McConnell will retire.
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a close Trump ally, launched his bid for McConnell’s Senate seat about an hour after the announcement.
“Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate,” Cameron said in a statement. “Let’s do this.”