Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) in a Senate floor speech announced his retirement and urged his fellow senators to stand up for “national security” and “the rule of law.”
“Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime,” McConnell said in the speech on Thursday, his 83rd birthday. “I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
McConnell, who stepped down as Senate Republican leader last year, is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history and has represented Kentucky since 1985. His Thursday announcement comes amid growing concerns over his health, including several public freezes and falls that raised questions about his ability to serve effectively.
While McConnell has supported most of President Donald Trump’s agenda, the two also clashed during both of Trump’s terms, with the Kentucky senator recently voting against three Trump nominees and calling for increased aid to Ukraine.
The Senate, McConnell said, ensures that “the men and women who preside” over the American people “profess authentic devotion to the rule of law above all else.”
The upper chamber’s most important concern, McConnell went on, is “the obligations of national security.” He warned that the United States has allowed its “hard power” to “atrophy” since Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
The longtime senator ended his speech by saying that he has hope, however.
“There are any number of reasons for pessimism,” McConnell said. “But the strength of the Senate is not one of them. This chamber is still the haven where the political minority can require a debate. It is still the crucible in which jurists are tested for their fidelity to upholding the Constitution and laws as they were written. The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence, and to the disappointment of my critics, I’m still here on the job.”
This article was originally published at freebeacon.com
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