Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, who acquired the moniker "Grim Reaper" as the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, said on Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending a decades-long career that helped steer American politics decisively to the right.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.

Republican Mitch McConnell, a shrewd political tactician who tilted the Supreme Court to the right but whose traditional brand of conservatism was overtaken by Donald Trump’s populism, announced he won’t seek reelection to the US Senate in 2026.