JUST IN: Mitch McConnell Won’t Seek Reelection in 2026

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection in 2026. He is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

In a prepared statement sent to The Associated Press before he was set to give a speech on the Senate floor, McConnell, 83, said:

Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate. Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. 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.

McConnell will serve out the remainder of his current term, which ends in January 2027.

The announcement came at a time when McConnell’s relationship with President Donald Trump continues to deteriorate. Though the two were once considered allies, McConnell’s opposition to a number of Trump’s decisions has caused that alliance to erode. The most recent examples came when McConnell

voted not to confirm Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Trump’s Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively. He was the lone “no” vote among Republicans in both cases.

Though both were eventually confirmed, McConnell’s vocal opposition was not received well by the president. Trump claimed McConnell was “not equipped mentally” and “a very bitter guy.”