Republican leader of the US Senate Mitch McConell, 82, will leave office in November, he announced on Wednesday.
“I stand before you today (...) to tell you that this mandate will be my last as leader of the Republicans
,” he declared during a speech in the hemicycle.
This surprise speech was greeted with standing ovations from elected officials from both sides in the hemicycle of the upper house.
Mitch McConnell, undisputed leader of the Republicans in the Senate since 2015, found himself on the front line of the fight against the policies of the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama (2009-2017), but also to support Donald Trump, who arrived in power in January 2017. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he has also been one of the biggest defenders of American aid to kyiv.
In recent months, however, concerns have been raised about the state of health of the Republican leader, victim in the summer of two long periods of absence in one month.
In March, the octogenarian senator was hospitalized after a fall during a private dinner, which left him with a concussion, a broken rib and nearly six weeks off work.
Despite this, Mitch McConnell categorically refused to resign.