WASHINGTON--Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday he will step down this year from his leadership role, ending a record-setting tenure and ceding more influence to Donald Trump and the hardliners who have come to define the party. McConnell, who has represented Kentucky in the Senate since 1985 and has been his party's leader since 2007, gleefully embraced the nickname "Grim Reaper" for his willingness to use the levers of power to stonewall Democratic goals, whether as majority leader or, as is currently the case, minority leader. "I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I prefer," McConnell said on the Senate floor, his voice breaking with emotion. "Father Time remains undefeated. I'm no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues remember my name. It's time for the next generation of leadership." His tenure of nearly 17 years as a Senate party leader is the longest on record. McConnell played an outsized role in helping Trump cement a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court, paving the way for landmark rulings cheered by conservatives ending the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and expanding gun rights. That belied McConnell's personal opposition at times to Trump - particularly the then-president's conduct ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. McConnell also has continued his vocal support for trying to pass aid to Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion over the opposition of hardline Republican opponents allied with Trump. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate. McConnell said he will not run for Senate Republican leader in November's party elections, meaning he will end his time as leader when a new Congress convenes in January. McConnell's departure from the leadership will remove a central player in negotiations with Democrats and the White House on spending deals to keep the federal government funded and avert a shutdown. His steady command of his caucus stood in contrast to relatively newly minted Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who has struggled to lead his thin majority. "Look at the House, where you go through leaders on a regular basis, and yet Mitch McConnell has stood the test of time," Republican Senator Mike Rounds said. After falling at a Washington event in March, McConnell twice last summer froze up while making remarks in public, raising questions about his health and his ability to continue to carry out the duties of his high-powered job. Those concerns were not assuaged by an Aug. 31 note from the congressional physician that cleared McConnell to go on working.
