Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, announced on Wednesday that he will soon be stepping down from his position as the top member of the GOP in the upper chamber of Congress. Honestly, this has been a very long time coming. In reality, the man should have left this position a long, long time ago. He’s currently 82-years-old, which, in my book means he’s far too old to be serving in Congress.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” McConnell went on to say. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
Sen. McConnell: This will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I'll complete my job my colleagues have given me to do until we select a new leader in November…I'll finish my job the people of Kentucky hired me to do as well. pic.twitter.com/9ywtErIZ7M
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2024
According to the Daily Wire:
McConnell said he will stay on as leader for the time being as his colleagues pick a new leader in November and that person will take on the role in January. “It’s time for the next generation of leadership,” he added.
Last year, McConnell was briefly hospitalized with a concussion in March after falling at a hotel in Washington, D.C., and in the months that followed he appeared to momentarily freeze and struggle to answer questions while speaking to the press.
Amid a torrent of speculation about McConnell’s condition and future in Congress, the Kentucky Republican declared in September that he intended to finish his term as leader and finish his Senate term.
McConnell’s current term ends in January of 2027, which, for a man who is in his eighties is nigh unto eternity. The poor guy might not even be alive by then. I hope that’s not the case, but the time clock runs out for all of us eventually.
On Wednesday, McConnell reiterated his plan not to retire from the Senate early, saying, “I still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm with which they’ve become accustomed.”
The timing of McConnell’s announcement is very interesting, especially considering he took a shellacking after he opted to abandon conservative principles by throwing his support behind a border deal that ultimately failed to pass after being the subject of bipartisan negotiations for months. He, in reality, is a poster child for what it means to be part of the political establishment.
It was not immediately clear which GOP lawmakers will run in this year’s leadership race, but Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) are seen as contenders.
Unlike other Senate Republican leaders, McConnell has not endorsed former President Donald Trump or any other GOP candidates running for the White House in 2024.
At the end of the day, it’s time for the whole Republican establishment to ride off into the sunset. Former President Donald Trump changed the game and it’s never going back to the way it was. The American people have been electing more and more individuals who actually stick to their principles, and more folks are taking up the burden of running for office themselves.
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We are in a new era as Republicans and there’s just no more tolerance for establishment folk like McConnell.