It’s an undeniable political reality acknowledged by his friends and foes alike.
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) nearly 18-year stint as the ringleader of Republican senators leaves behind a historic trail.
When McConnell returns next month for the new session of Congress, it will mark the first time since 2007 that he won’t be Senate GOP leader. His exit from the leadership table comes as the conference is set to retake the chamber after flipping four seats in November.
“Where do you begin? This guy has led through thick and thin,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said. “He sees the big picture. He sees the long game. He is a Reagan Republican and proud of it.”
In a series of interviews with the Washington Examiner, Senate allies lauded McConnell’s commitment to reshaping for generations to come the nation’s deep bench of federal judges and his unique ability to navigate an ideologically diverse conference through perilous political waters.
“Nobody understands the Senate better than him,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “They called [Lyndon B. Johnson] the master of the Senate. But LBJ had nothing on Mitch McConnell.”
McConnell’s stretch in power marked the longest period of time for a party leader in Senate history. Under his watch, the upper chamber ushered through hundreds of conservative judicial nominees, including three Supreme Court justices. He led under a tumultuous period of U.S. politics that featured the Great Recession, the Tea Party wave, the rise of President-elect Donald Trump, a global pandemic, and two presidential impeachment trials.
Naturally, McConnell’s tenure isn’t without his fair share of critics. Most of them are Democrats, but members of his own party are also among them.
McConnell’s successor will be his deputy, Whip John Thune (R-SD). Although relinquishing his post, McConnell will continue serving out the remaining two years of his seventh consecutive term, which doesn’t expire until early 2027, as a rank-and-file senator.
“I’ve made it clear this year that our colleagues haven’t seen the last of me,” McConnell said in his final floor speech as GOP leader. “I still fully intend to keep frustrating my critics in the years ahead.”
‘When he speaks, everybody listens’
If there’s one thing members of Congress have a near-unanimous affinity for, it’s making headlines. From social media and the Senate floor to the airwaves and op-eds, there are virtually endless avenues for lawmakers to make their positions known.
However, for someone such as McConnell, less is more. Aside from daily scripted speeches on the floor and a handful of questions from reporters once a week, he frequently refrains from offering public opinions. Questions posed to him by reporters in the halls of Congress almost always go unanswered, and rather than pivoting or offering a convoluted answer, he often simply rejects questions at press conferences on subjects he doesn’t wish to engage in.
However, when McConnell does speak, which is usually after hearing from fellow Republicans, it’s wise to listen carefully.
“He’s a quiet guy and doesn’t say a whole lot,” said Sen. John Boozman (R-AR). “But when he speaks, everybody listens.”
As it turns out, McConnell’s ability to reshape the country’s network of judges by installing conservative appointees requires little public engagement.
“His legacy is inextricable from the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). “That’s where I would point to as his strength, his sort of master architecture. He is painstakingly patient with this process.”
Under Trump’s first term and McConnell’s leadership, the Senate confirmed more than 200 judges to the federal bench. (President Joe Biden eked out a victory over Trump’s judicial record when the Senate confirmed two final district judges this month, bringing his total number to 235 during his term compared to 234 under Trump.)
McConnell is credited not only for getting three Supreme Court justices confirmed — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — but also for blocking Obama nominee Merrick Garland in the months before the 2016 elections.
“The people who are here to make a difference recognize pretty quickly that you never get everything you want, but often you can get quite a lot,” McConnell said in his floor speech. “And the folks who prefer to make a point have a funny habit of reminding us — out loud — how poorly they understand that fact.”
Cornyn, who narrowly lost a secret ballot election to Thune among Senate Republicans last month to replace McConnell, served as McConnell’s whip from 2013 to 2015. Cornyn reflected on how McConnell navigated treacherous votes and matters over the years, such as raising the debt ceiling, by providing political cover to Republicans.
“On some of the must-pass legislation that nobody in the conference wants to vote for, if you’re part of leadership, you have to cast a tough vote. I remember him telling me when I was the whip, ‘Come on, we got to do this.’ And we did,” Cornyn said. “Those are always unpleasant. But if you’re in leadership, you have to do things you wouldn’t do if you were just a free agent.”
No love lost from critics: McConnell ‘broke’ the Senate
Not all Republicans feel a rosy send-off is in order for McConnell. Despite maintaining the support of a majority of his members, some Republicans, particularly due to periodical criticism of Trump, have accused McConnell of failing to back Trump’s agenda and his stature as party leader adequately.
“If I took it personally every time my advice went unheeded, I probably wouldn’t have spent as long as I have in this particular job,” McConnell said in his floor speech.
In 2022, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) challenged McConnell for leader. McConnell won handily with a secret ballot of 37-10. However, the long-shot bid by Scott revealed underlying tensions in the party between some in the conference and McConnell.
Among those Republican critics is Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
“The nicest thing I can say is, I suppose, I’ll leave that to historians,” Hawley said. “It’ll take a lot of years to sort through that.”
He conceded McConnell was effective on judges but felt Republican majorities were underproductive legislatively with McConnell at the helm.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), who is leaving the Senate after one term to become Indiana governor next month, is another critic. He lamented the lack of term limits in Congress and the fiscal hypocrisy within the GOP.
“We are talking about fiscal discipline and always forgetting about it when there’s something we want,” Braun said. “I think that’s the unwholly alliance that’s got to be broken because it doesn’t make sense.”
Democrats, unsurprisingly, are far more critical of McConnell. They see him as having unfairly rammed through an extra Supreme Court justice, one of their biggest threats to a progressive agenda, and being nothing more than a MAGA enabler afraid to stand up to the president-elect.
“McConnell is the man who broke the United States Senate,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). “He found every way possible to prevent the Senate from doing the work it should have done to help the American people. That is a legacy dating back years.”
She cited episodes such as resisting Democratic priorities for policies such as Obamacare by having “used the filibuster so effectively.”
“The consequence was bad for the American people and bad, ultimately, for our democracy,” said Warren, who has served in the Senate since 2013. “He put politics ahead of the job we’re supposed to do, and that’s make the laws work better for the people of this country. That will be his legacy.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a first-term senator with a more centrist streak, declined to extend his feelings about McConnell.
“I’m not really sure he would care about my hot take on his legacy,” said Fetterman. “If you find out he does care what I think, then let me know. I would take that as a compliment.”
There’s little that McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have agreed on over their many years working together. Schumer even conceded as much in remarks made after McConnell’s final speech as leader.
However, Schumer, who has been Democratic leader since 2017, still extended his appreciation for working with his GOP counterpart.
“Everyone knows Leader McConnell and I had plenty of disagreements over the years on matters of policies and politics,” said Schumer. “But when the time was right, we found ways to work together, to get very important things done for this country.”
How McConnell seeks to wield his rank-and-file status
McConnell, 82, was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1942. He overcame polio as a child before his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, when he was a teenager.
McConnell graduated in 1964 from the University of Louisville and in 1967 from the University of Kentucky Law School. After schooling, he was a staffer to the late Sen. Marlow Cook, deputy assistant U.S. attorney general under former President Gerald Ford, and chief judge of Jefferson County, Kentucky.
In 1984, as chief judge, McConnell was first elected to the Senate.
It’s widely believed McConnell will not seek reelection in 2026. He has suffered several health episodes since 2023, the most recent being this month when he sustained a sprained wrist and scratched face after tripping and falling near the Senate chamber.
However, what is certain is his stated focus next Congress on countering the growing isolationism in his party from global engagement, such as helping Ukraine defeat Russia.
“Our prosperity and security depend on an order forged by American leadership and American strength — both of which require our urgent attention,” said McConnell. “The arsenal of democracy must be restored. Peace through strength must once again actually mean something other than just a slogan.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to help continue this to be the greatest country in the world. No one can do what we can internationally and that’s where I’m going to put my focus,” he continued.
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McConnell’s plans will undoubtedly irk some in his party as Republicans rally around Trump’s America First agenda. However, what’s less clear is the level of sway he’ll enjoy among Republicans as Trump resurges to power.
“He’s going to have tremendous influence as we go forward,” Boozman predicted. “Everybody respects his opinion.”