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Washington — Sen. Minority Chief Mitch McConnell introduced he is stepping down because the higher chamber’s GOP chief after 17 years on the helm.
The Kentucky Republican, who turned 82 final week, introduced his choice on the Senate ground on Wednesday.
“I at all times imagined a second when I’ve complete readability and peace in regards to the sundown of my work. A second once I’m sure I’ve helped protect the beliefs I so strongly imagine,” he mentioned. “That day arrived at present.”
In emotional remarks, McConnell outlined his 40 years within the Senate, saying that when he was first elected to the chamber in 1984 he “by no means may have imagined” turning into the longest-serving senator to characterize Kentucky within the state’s historical past.
“To serve Kentucky within the Senate has been the consideration of my life, to steer my Republican colleagues has been the very best privilege,” he mentioned, earlier than saying that this might be his final time period because the Senate GOP chief.
The announcement comes as McConnell’s grip on his convention has appeared to slide in current months, as former President Donald Trump’s affect has grown.
When the majority of McConnell’s convention shortly rejected a bipartisan Senate-negotiated border safety settlement at Trump’s urging in current weeks, McConnell relented, noting that the dynamics had modified. And though McConnell succeeded in getting sufficient of his convention behind a international assist invoice that features funding for Ukraine, certainly one of his key priorities days later, the chapter got here with among the most vocal opposition but to McConnell’s continued management.
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