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Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of this cycle, and declined to run for an eighth term in 2026.
Making the revelation on his 83rd birthday, the former Senate majority leader said he planned to serve out the remainder of his current term, which expires in Jan. 2027.
“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell noted while speaking in the upper chamber.
He continued, “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 news comes amid a series of health scares from the senator, who has seemingly frozen up during press conferences on several occasions, Fox News reported.
In one of many viral instances, video footage showed McConnell freeze during a 2023 press conference while addressing reporters, sparking concerns about his ability to serve.
His office also never provided an update regarding this episode.
McConnell fell down the Senate stairs earlier this month, a report from the New York Post found, and soon after was spotted in a wheelchair.
He also fell during a December GOP luncheon, Fox News reported.
McConnell began his political career as an appointee of President Gerald Ford as deputy assistant attorney general for legislative affairs.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and later served as majority leader from 2015 to 2021.
McConnell’s revelation also comes nearly a year after exiting from his role as Senate Minority Leader.
However, McConnell’s current ties to today’s Republican Party have seemingly weakened. Having what initially appeared as a cooperative relationship with President Donald Trump during his first term, and his wife, Elaine Chao, previously serving as a member of the president’s cabinet, their mutual disdain has since grown.
He recently voted “no” for several of President Trump’s cabinet selections, including National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Fox News reported.
With McConnell’s retirement, his seat will now become open for the first time in over 40 years.