Last summer, Senator Mitch McConnell had several moments where he appeared to be profoundly unwell. More than a year ago, McConnell had some kind of fall, after which he needed extensive rehab over the course of months. When he came back to the Senate, the Republicans tried to keep him away from the cameras as much as possible. When he finally started doing those press conferences, that’s when the trouble started. He froze for a full 30 seconds during one presser in DC. A short time later, he froze again in Kentucky. Reportedly, he had some other falls which he didn’t tell anyone about. All in all, it sounds like McConnell has been hiding some very serious medical issues for more than a year. Well, now he plans to step down from Senate leadership, but he said he will serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2027.
Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November. McConnell, who turned 82 last week, announced his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, the chamber where he looked in awe from its back benches in 1985 when he arrived and where he grew increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.”
He spoke at times haltingly, his emotions evident, as he looked back on his career. Dozens of members of his staff lined up behind him on the back wall of the chamber, some wiping away tears, as family and friends looked down from the gallery above. Senators from both parties — most of them taken by surprise by the announcement — trickled into the chamber and exchanged hugs and handshakes.
President Joe Biden, who has had a productive working relationship with McConnell, said he was sorry to hear the news. “I’ve trusted him and we have a great relationship,” the Democratic president said. “We fight like hell. But he has never, never, never misrepresented anything.”
Aides said McConnell’s announcement 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.
While McConnell is absolute scum, there’s a completely legitimate fear that the men who come after him will be even worse. The MAGA “suicide caucus” has already run roughshod over everyone in the House, and the Senate is next. That being said, McConnell was one of the biggest pieces of sh-t *because* he was so effective at getting his way and setting the agenda. If not for McConnell, Obama would have been able to fill Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court and that would have been just one radical difference in the past eight years. Anyway, I f–king hate this turtle man and I hope the rest of his life is an utter misery.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.