Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection in 2026, bringing an end to his decades-long career as a key power broker in the Senate. While he championed conservative causes, McConnell ultimately saw his influence challenged by the rise of Trump-era GOP populism. Marking his 83rd birthday, McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, informed The Associated Press of his decision before delivering a farewell address to colleagues on the Senate floor. His departure signals the final chapter of a storied career, where he shaped a conservative Supreme Court, navigated tax cuts, impeachment trials and some of the most contentious political battles in modern history.
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. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he was set to address colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor. His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forge a conservative Supreme Court and steered the Senate through tax cuts, presidential impeachment trials and fierce political fights.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), the longest serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, announced on Thursday he will not be seeking reelection in 2026. McConnell intends to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2027. The former Senate minority leader announced the news on his 83rd birthday. “Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in prepared remarks provided to the Associated Press. “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 honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
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18h ago — The National Park Service “is nearing completion of” a renovation of the Jefferson Memorial that turns the site into “a condemning portrayal” of the president’s legacy, City Journal recently reported.The project aims to “completely renovate” the basement exhibit level of the memorial to “[provide] more perspectives as it shares Thomas Jefferson’s multi-faceted story,” a 2021 NPS press release said.NPS signage at the memorial describes the upcoming exhibits, according to City Journal.“The memorial’s designers sought to convey their mid-1900s version of US democracy,” it said. “Thomas Jefferson became the face of that endeavor. … In crafting this image, they selected specific materials, details, and excerpts from his writings. Studying these choices reveals their motives.”But instead of informing visitors about Jefferson’s life, the new exhibits will undermine Jefferson’s legacy, City Journal said.Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said in 2021 that the new exhibits will “certainly … take a look at the paradox of the author of the lines ‘All men are created equal’ who owned more than 600 slaves in his life.”The renovation is funded in part by $10 million from David M. Rubenstein, the NPS press release said. Rubenstein previously funded exhibits about slavery at Montpelier, the home of James Madison, and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.In 2019, Rubenstein said he donated to the project “so when people go, they can actually learn about Jefferson.”But what does Rubenstein want people to learn about Jefferson, exactly? In a piece announcing Rubenstein’s donation, Smithsonian Magazine called Jefferson “a man of huge contradictions.” The memorial renovation will focus on “reinterpreting” Jefferson, particularly in light of allegations that Jefferson had four illegitimate children with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves.The magazine ignored a scholarly commission that found that “the allegation is by no means proven” after examining available DNA evidence, as City Journal reported.The old museum “focused on Jefferson’s own words, life, and ideas,” City Journal said. While the memorial above tried to present Jefferson in line with the New Deal policies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — who dedicated it in 1943 — the museum below showcased “Jefferson’s commitment to limited government and local control.”Plans for the renovation of the Jefferson Memorial began in 2017. Kate Greenberg, then-vice president of marketing and communications for the Trust at the National Mall, said the renovation would include the “most inclusive and accurate information” available.The renovation is continuing despite an executive order from President Donald Trump that aims to purge “anti-American ideology” from museums, parks, and monuments, The Daily Wire previously reported.“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order said.The order instructs Secretary of the Interior Mark Burgum to ensure that monuments “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”Although the order has been in effect since March, the renovation project continues and plans to open in 2025, City Journal said.
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