Veteran US politician Mitch McConnell to step down as Republican leader in Senate
Mitch McConnell
Veteran US politician Mitch McConnell announced on Wednesday (Feb 28) that he will step down as leader of the Republican Party in the Senate in November. The 82-year-old is the longest-serving Senate leader in history.
"I stand before you today, Mr President and my colleagues to say this will be my last term as Republican leader," McConnell said in the chamber.
"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," he said.
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McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, "albeit from a different seat in the chamber." He has been the mostly undisputed leader of Republicans in the Senate since 2015. He was at the forefront of the party's battles against Barack Obama's programmes from 2009 to 2017.
He was vital in bringing Donald Trump to power in January 2017, when the party underwent radical reforms, before clashing with Trump over the former president's unfounded claims to have won the 2020 election, which became a major reason for friction between the two.
The conflict widened drastically with the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. McConnell blamed and reprimanded Trump, claiming that he should face criminal charges for his actions.
Watch:Hunter Biden testifies behind closed doors in GOP impeachment inquiry
US-based reports mentioned McConnell's aides as saying that his announcement about the leadership post was unrelated to his health. The Kentucky senator had a concussion from a fall last year and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking.
"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 prepared remarks.
"A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)