Former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell won’t run for re-election in 2026 [Video]

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader who helped Republicans remake the U.S. Supreme Court and also influenced how political campaigns are financed, announced Thursday that he would not seek an eighth term in office.

“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said, as aides lined the back chamber and several senators listened from seats. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honour of a lifetime. I will not seek this honour an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”

The move — which came on McConnell’s 83rd birthday — was widely expected.

McConnell has endured several health challenges in the past two years. On two occasions, he was unable to complete prepared remarks as aides scrambled to help him, and he has …