Legislative

Mitch McConnell to retire?

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has his fellow Senators speculating on his retirement, to the point of actively preparing for it.

Published

2 years ago

April 13, 2023

Terry A. Hurlbut

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader, is now the subject of speculation on his retirement, and leadership succession.

Mitch McConnell had a big fall…

Mitch McConnell has made no announcement yet of any plans to retire from the Senate. He did not face re-election last Midterms; his junior partner, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), won re-election easily. But he took a bad fall and landed in the hospital March 8.

He has been in inpatient rehabilitation since March 13.

We now learn that Senate Republicans are already preparing for a new leadership vote and some new assignments.

BREAKING: Republican Senators are actively preparing for the retirement of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 13, 2023

https://t.co/p9bn34RZMr— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 13, 2023

The Spectator reports that Senate Republicans are already reaching out to the very Senators who didn’t want him to continue as Leader after Midterms. Senators John Barasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have taken the lead in this planning. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who challenged McConnell for the Leadership, has emerged as a target of much courting by Cornyn and the others.

Mitch McConnell disappointed many by the poor Republican performance at Midterms. This led to a charge that he deliberately kept the Senate Republican Conference from growing, so he could remain Leader.

Update

Senator McConnell now denies any plans to retire.

I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday. We've got important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and the American people.— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) April 13, 2023

Terry A. Hurlbut

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Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.