Mitch McConnell said he will step down as Senate Republican leader in November (Picture: AP)
The longest-serving Senate leader in US history has announced he will resign after nearly two decades in Republican leadership.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who last week turned 82, announced his decision on Wednesday, following a couple of recent public freezing incidents that prompted some calls for him to step down.
‘One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,’ stated McConnell in prepared remarks.
‘So I stand before you today… to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.’
McConnell said he will leave the leadership post in November. But he plans to finish serving his current term that ends in January 2027 ‘from a different seat in the chamber’.
The Kentucky senator’s aides said his resignation is not related to his health.
McConnell was treated at a hospital in March after suffering a concussion from tripping and falling at a dinner event he spoke at in Washington, DC.
In July, McConnell froze mid-sentence while speaking in a weekly Republican leadership briefing at the Capitol. He was escorted away from the podium after not reacting to colleagues who asked him what the matter was. McConnell returned to the press conference minutes later and when asked if the episode was related to his concussion, replied, ‘No, I’m fine.’
‘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.
‘A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.’
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