Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senate (Retiring)
KY U.S. Senate
Mitch McConnell is the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in history and one of the most consequential legislators of the modern era. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021 and again from 2025. He is best known for blocking Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination in 2016, enabling three Trump SCOTUS appointments, and for his mastery of procedural Senate politics. In February 2024, McConnell announced he would step down as Republican leader, and he has since confirmed he will not seek re-election in 2026, leaving a safely Republican seat open in Kentucky.
Judicial Appointments
Reshape the federal judiciary with constitutionalist judges
- Blocked Merrick Garland's Supreme Court confirmation for 293 days in 2016
- Oversaw confirmation of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS
- Oversaw confirmation of over 200 federal judges under the Trump administration
Fiscal Policy
Tax cuts; restrain entitlement spending; reduce deficits
- Managed passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017)
- Led Republican opposition to major Democratic spending packages
- Pushed debt ceiling negotiations as leverage for spending cuts
National Defense
Robust defense spending; strong NATO commitment
- Consistently backed increases to defense authorization budgets
- Supported Ukraine aid packages over objections from the MAGA wing
- Opposed withdrawal from NATO and international alliances
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