Mitch McConnell says he won’t run for reelection next year

Former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said he won’t run for reelection in 2026, and is expected to announce his impending departure from the Senate on Thursday, his 83rd birthday. 

He told the Associated Press he plans to make the announcement on the Senate floor, and a person familiar with his plans told CBS News McConnell won’t run again. McConnell, who is serving his seventh term, has been a U.S. senator from Kentucky since 1985, and he announced one year ago that he would relinquish his leadership role in he Senate. He was the Senate Republican leader from 2007-2025 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history. McConnell was the majority leader from 2015-2021.

McConnell’s retirement from the Senate was widely expected. 

McConnell, a polio survivor, has experienced health issues in recent years, including freezing episodes and falls. Those who have spent time around him recently said he’s experiencing some reemergence of polio symptoms that are known to afflict older survivors of the disease. He’s been wheelchair-bound since a recent fall in the U.S. Capitol.