McConnell announced Thursday he won't seek reelection in 2026, leaving his Senate seat open to a new generation of politicians.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. − Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has spent nearly half a century in the nation's Capitol shaping Republican priorities while thwarting Democratic policies, will not seek reelection when his term expires next year.

Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, who acquired the moniker "Grim Reaper" as the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, said on Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending a decades-long career that helped steer American politics decisively to the right.