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Post by Newsman on Feb 28, 2024 13:51:52 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell will step down in NovemberMitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader who has made a lasting imprint on conservative politics in the United States, will step down from his leadership post in November, the Associated Press reports. “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” McConnell will say in remarks from the Senate floor today, according to the AP. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.” McConnell plans to serve out his term representing Kentucky, which ends in January 2027.
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Post by Webster on Feb 28, 2024 13:59:47 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is speaking on the floor of the chamber now. He’s expected to announce his plans to step down from his leadership position, which he’s held longer than any other lawmaker.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Mitch McConnell just formally announced his plan to depart as the chamber’s top Republican in November. “This will be my last term as Republican leader. I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I’ll complete my job. My colleagues have given me until we select a new leader in November and they take the helm next January. I’ll finish the job that people Kentucky hired me to do as well. It’ll be it from a different seat,” McConnell said.
Mitch McConnell just ended his remarks on the Senate floor to applause. Lawmakers are coming to shake his hand, including the chamber’s leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer.
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Post by Webster on Feb 28, 2024 14:07:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Who will succeed McConnell?Three Republicans are thought to be potential successors to Mitch McConnell as the party’s leader in the Senate. They are: --John Cornyn of Texas, the former whip during periods when Republicans held the majority in the Senate. In 2022, he worked with the Democrats to pass modest gun safety reforms following the Uvalde school shooting. --John Barasso of Wyoming, who currently chairs the Senate Republican Conference, making him the third-highest ranking GOP lawmaker. --John Thune of South Dakota, who, as minority whip, is McConnell’s chief deputy in the chamber. Whoever takes over from McConnell may also end up with a different title: majority leader. In order for Democrats to maintain their current control of the chamber, incumbents representing red states of Ohio and Montana will have to win re-election, or the party will have to oust established Republicans in hostile territory like Florida and Texas – both tall orders.
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Post by Webster on Feb 28, 2024 14:09:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here is more from the statement Mitch McConnell delivered on the Senate floor regarding his resignation announcement: “I love the Senate. It has been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it.
After all this time, I still get a thrill walking into the Capitol and especially on this venerable floor knowing that we – each of us – have the honor to represent our states and do the important work of our country. But Father Time remains undefeated.
I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership… So time rolls on. There will be a new custodian of this great institution. Next year, I intend to turn this job over to a Republican majority leader. I have full confidence in my conference to choose my replacement and lead our country forward.”
South Carolina’s Republican senator Lindsey Graham has released a statement following Mitch McConnell’s resignation announcement, calling it a “passing of the torch moment.” Hailing McConnell as “one of the most effective leaders in the history of the US Senate,” Graham said: “No one in the Republican Party has echoed the themes of peace through strength – the Reagan model of national security – better than Senator Mitch McConnell…
I look forward to continuing to work with Senator McConnell in the coming days and months as we address major challenges like securing the southern border and helping our friends in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.”
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Post by Webster on Feb 28, 2024 14:10:44 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senate majority leader, has responded to Mitch McConnell’s decision to step down from his position, saying in a statement: “During my years in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and I rarely saw eye to eye when it came to our politics or our policy preferences. But I am very proud that we both came together in the last few years to lead the Senate forward at critical moments when our country needed us, like passing the CARES Act in the early days of the COVID pandemic, finishing our work to certify the election on January 6th, and more recently working together to fund the fight for Ukraine.
I know it’s been a difficult year for him and his family and I wish them the very best.”
California’s Democratic representative Adam Schiff criticized Mitch McConnell’s political track record following the senator’s resignation announcement. Pointing to McConnell’s victory in helping to create a 6-3 conservative majority in the supreme court, Schiff said: “Mitch McConnell stacked the Court, undermined our democracy, and enabled Donald Trump. And yet – in his absence – the @senategop will invariably select someone more extreme. With our democracy more fragile than ever, we must select and elect leaders committed to protecting it.”
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