Mitch McConnell
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Pp-blp Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox officeholder Addison Mitchell McConnell III<ref name="memoir1">Template:Cite book</ref> (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history. He served from 2007 to 2025 as the leader of the Senate Republican Conference, including two stints as minority leader (2007 to 2015 and 2021 to 2025), and was majority leader from 2015 to 2021, making him the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.
McConnell holds conservative political positions, although he was known as a pragmatist and a moderate Republican early in his political career. He led opposition to stricter campaign finance laws, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC, which partially overturned the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) in 2010. McConnell worked to withhold Republican support for major presidential initiatives during the Obama administration, making frequent use of the filibuster, and blocked many of President Barack Obama's judicial nominees, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
During the first Trump administration, the Senate Republican majority under McConnell's leadership passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act in 2018, the First Step Act, and the Great American Outdoors Act, and confirmed a record number of federal appeals court judges during a president's first two years. McConnell invoked the nuclear option to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, after his predecessor Harry Reid had eliminated the filibuster for all other presidential nominations; Trump subsequently won Supreme Court confirmation battles over Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. While supportive of most of Trump's domestic and foreign policies, McConnell criticized Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and despite voting to acquit in Trump's second impeachment trial for reasons related to the constitutionality of impeaching a former president, deemed him "practically and morally responsible" for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In late 2024, McConnell wrote an essay on his current view of American power and the foreign policy mistakes of former presidents.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 2015, 2019 and 2023, Time listed McConnell as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.<ref name="Boehner">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Time">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On February 28, 2024, McConnell announced that he would step down as the Senate Republican Conference Leader in January 2025, but would serve the remainder of his Senate term.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An internal election to fill the post of Senate Republican Leader was held on November 13, in which South Dakota senator John Thune was selected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On February 20, 2025, McConnell announced he would not run for an eighth Senate term in 2026 and would retire from politics. This came after increasing concerns about his health and ability to continue serving.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life and education (1942–1967)
McConnell was born on February 20, 1942, to Julia Odene "Dean" (Template:Nee Shockley) and Addison Mitchell "A.M." McConnell II<ref name="memoir">Template:Cite book</ref> at Colbert County Hospital (now Helen Keller Hospital) in Sheffield, Alabama, and grew up in Athens, Alabama, where his grandfather, Robert Hayes McConnell Sr., and his great-uncle, Addison Mitchell McConnell, owned McConnell Funeral Home.<ref name = memoir/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is of Scots-Irish and English descent. His ancestor James McConnell fought on the American side in the American Revolutionary War.<ref name="memoir"/><ref>Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref>
Template:Stack Template:Mitch McConnell series In 1944, at the age of two, McConnell's upper left leg was paralyzed by a polio attack.<ref name="memoir" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He and his mother were living with an aunt in Five Points, Alabama, at the time, and he received treatment at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The treatment potentially saved him from being disabled for the rest of his life.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell said his family "almost went broke" because of costs related to his illness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1950, when he was eight, McConnell moved with his family from Athens to Augusta, Georgia, where his father, who was in the Army, was stationed at Fort Gordon.<ref name="memoir2">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1956, his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he attended duPont Manual High School.<ref name="memoir2"/> McConnell was elected student council president at his high school during his junior year.<ref name="memoir2"/> He graduated Omicron Delta Kappa from the University of Louisville with a B.A. in political science in 1964 with honors.<ref name="SenBio">Template:Cite web</ref> He was president of the Student Council of the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.<ref name="memoir3">Template:Cite book</ref>
McConnell attended the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave the "I Have a Dream" speech.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1964, at the age of 22, he attended civil rights rallies,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and interned with Senator John Sherman Cooper. He has said his time with Cooper inspired him to run for the Senate later in life.<ref name=Stretch>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Homans-2019">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1967, McConnell graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was president of the Student Bar Association.<ref name="memoir3"/><ref name="almanac">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early career (1967–1984)
In March 1967, shortly before the expiration of his educational draft deferment upon graduation from law school, McConnell enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve as a private at Louisville.<ref name="Cheves">Template:Cite news</ref> This was a coveted position because the Reserve units were mostly kept out of combat during the Vietnam War.<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="MacGillis">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp His first day of training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, was July 9, 1967, two days after taking the bar exam, and his last day was August 15, 1967.<ref name="memoir3"/><ref name="Cheves"/> Shortly after his arrival he was diagnosed with optic neuritis and deemed medically unfit for military service, and was honorably discharged.Template:Efn<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="weiser">Template:Cite news Alt URL</ref> McConnell's political opponents have repeatedly made an issue of his brief time in service during his electoral campaigns.<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="weiser"/>
From 1968 to 1970, McConnell worked as chief legislative assistant to Senator Marlow Cook in Washington, D.C., managing a legislative department consisting of five members as well as assisting with speechwriting and constituent services.<ref name="memoir4">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1971, McConnell returned to Louisville, where he worked on Tom Emberton's campaign for governor of Kentucky, which was unsuccessful.<ref name="memoir4"/> McConnell attempted to run for a seat in the state legislature but was disqualified because he did not meet the residency requirements for the office.<ref name="memoir4"/> He then worked for the Louisville law firm Segal, Isenberg, Sales and Stewart for a few years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="memoir4"/> During the same period, he taught a night class on political science at the University of Louisville.<ref name="almanac"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Cherkis">Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 1974, McConnell returned to Washington to fill a position as Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Ford, where he worked alongside Robert Bork, Laurence Silberman, and Antonin Scalia.<ref name="almanac"/><ref name="memoir4"/> He also served as acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs under President Ford in 1975.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1977, McConnell was elected the Jefferson County judge/executive, the top political office in Jefferson County, Kentucky, at the time, defeating incumbent Democrat Todd Hollenbach III, 53% to 47%. He was reelected in 1981 against Jefferson County Commissioner Jim "Pop" Malone, 51% to 47%, outspending Malone 3–1, and occupied the office until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1984.<ref name=Stretch /><ref name="memoir4"/>
U.S. Senate (1985–present)
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In his early years as a politician in Kentucky, McConnell was known as a pragmatist and a moderate Republican.<ref name="Stretch" /><ref name="MacGillis"/> Over time he became more conservative.<ref name="Stretch" /><ref name="MacGillis"/> According to one of his biographers, McConnell transformed "from a moderate Republican who supported abortion rights and public employee unions to the embodiment of partisan obstructionism and conservative orthodoxy on Capitol Hill."<ref name="MacGillis"/> McConnell has widely been described as an obstructionist.<ref>Multiple sources:
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From 1997 to 2001, McConnell chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the body charged with securing electoral victories for Republicans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On February 12, 1999, he was one of 50 senators to vote to convict and remove Bill Clinton from office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was first elected Majority Whip in the 108th Congress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist did not seek reelection in the 2006 elections. In November, after Republicans lost control of the Senate, they elected McConnell minority leader.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 Senate elections, McConnell became the Senate majority leader.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2018 he became the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in U.S. history.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell is the second Kentuckian to serve as a party leader in the Senate (after Alben W. Barkley led the Democrats from 1937 to 1949)<ref name="SenBio" /> and the longest-serving U.S. senator from Kentucky.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McConnell has a reputation as a skilled political strategist and tactician.<ref name="Costa"/><ref name="Green">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This reputation dimmed after Republicans failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2017 during consolidated Republican control of government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McConnell regularly obtained earmarks for businesses and institutions in Kentucky until Congress banned the practice in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He has been criticized for funding "temporary patches" to Kentucky's long-term healthcare problems while simultaneously opposing and obstructing national programs that seek to improve healthcare more systematically, such as Obamacare and Medicaid expansion.<ref name="Cherkis"/>
Relationships with presidential administrations
Obama
As the leading Republican senator, McConnell confronted and pressured other Republican senators who were willing to negotiate with Democrats and the Obama administration.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Purdue University political scientist Bert A. Rockman, "pure party line voting has been evident now for some time ... but rarely has the tactic of 'oppositionism' been so boldly stated as McConnell did."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to University of Texas legal scholar Sanford Levinson, McConnell learned that obstruction and Republican unity were the optimal ways to ensure Republican gains in upcoming elections after he observed how Democratic cooperation with the Bush administration on No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D helped Bush's 2004 reelection.<ref name="Levinson-2012">Template:Cite book</ref> Levinson noted, "McConnell altogether rationally ... concluded that Republicans have nothing to gain, as a political party, from collaborating in anything that the president could then claim as an achievement."<ref name="Levinson-2012" /> A number of political scientists, historians, and legal scholars have characterized McConnell's obstructionism and constitutional hardball as contributors to democratic erosion in the United States.<ref>Multiple sources:
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In October 2010, McConnell said, "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." Asked whether this meant "endless, or at least frequent, confrontation with the president", McConnell said, "if [Obama is] willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues, it's not inappropriate for us to do business with him."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, "Facing off against Obama, [McConnell] worked to deny even minimal Republican support for major presidential initiatives—initiatives that were, as a rule, in keeping with the moderate model of decades past, and often with moderate Republican stances of a few years past."<ref name="amnesia">Template:Cite book</ref> The New York Times wrote early in Obama's administration that "on the major issues—not just health care, but financial regulation and the economic stimulus package, among others—Mr. McConnell has held Republican defections to somewhere between minimal and nonexistent, allowing him to slow the Democratic agenda if not defeat aspects of it."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Republican caucus threatened repeatedly to force the United States to default on its debt, McConnell saying he had learned from the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis that "it's a hostage that's worth ransoming".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Fishkin-2018">Template:Cite news</ref>
McConnell worked to delay and obstruct health care reform and banking reform, two of the most notable pieces of legislation that Democrats navigated through Congress early in Obama's tenure.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Schickler-2011">Template:Cite journal</ref> Political scientists noted that "by slowing action even on measures supported by many Republicans, McConnell capitalized on the scarcity of floor time, forcing Democratic leaders into difficult trade-offs concerning which measures were worth pursuing. ... Slowing the Senate's ability to process even routine measures limited the sheer volume of liberal bills that could be adopted."<ref name="Schickler-2011" />
Use of the filibuster
One of McConnell's most common tactics as minority leader to delay or obstruct legislation and judicial appointments was the filibuster. A filibuster is an attempt to "talk a bill to death", forcing Senate leadership to abandon a proposed measure instead of waiting out the filibuster―or at least to delay the measure's passage. In the Senate, any senator may speak for unlimited duration unless a 60-person majority votes to invoke cloture, or end debate, and proceed to a final vote. Political scientists have referred to McConnell's use of the filibuster as "constitutional hardball", referring to the misuse of procedural tools in a way that undermines democracy.<ref name="amnesia" /><ref name="Fishkin-2018" /><ref name="Levitsky-2018">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Political scientists Hacker and Pierson describe the rationale behind McConnell's filibusters: "Filibusters left no fingerprints. When voters heard that legislation had been 'defeated', journalists rarely highlighted that this defeat meant a minority had blocked a majority. Not only did this strategy produce an atmosphere of gridlock and dysfunction; it also chewed up the Senate calendar, restricting the range of issues on which Democrats could progress."<ref name="amnesia" />
In 2013, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster for all presidential nominations except the Supreme Court. By that time, nearly half of all votes to invoke cloture in the history of the Senate had occurred during Obama's presidency.<ref name="Mann-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2017, Senate Republicans led by McConnell eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations in order to end debate on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2019, McConnell wrote an editorial for The New York Times strongly opposing the elimination of the filibuster on legislation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Trump
McConnell initially endorsed fellow Kentucky senator Rand Paul for president in 2016. Paul withdrew from the race after the Iowa caucuses, and McConnell endorsed presumptive nominee Donald Trump on May 4, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> But McConnell disagreed with Trump on many occasions. In May 2016, after Trump suggested that federal judge Gonzalo P. Curiel was biased against Trump because of his Mexican heritage, McConnell said: "I don't agree with what [Trump] had to say. This is a man who was born in Indiana. All of us came here from somewhere else." In July 2016, after Trump criticized the parents of Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier who was killed in Iraq, McConnell said, "All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services." On October 7, 2016, following the Donald Trump Access Hollywood controversy, McConnell said, "As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In private, McConnell reportedly expresses disdain for Trump<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and "abhors" his behavior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 2017, White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon and other Trump allies blamed McConnell for stalling the Trump administration's legislation. In response, McConnell cited Neil Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court to show that the Senate supported Trump's agenda.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, McConnell at first refused to recognize Biden as the winner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nyt2020Election">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his public statements, McConnell did not repeat any of Trump's false claims of voter fraud, but did not contradict them, ignoring questions about evidence and instead arguing that Trump had the right to challenge the results.<ref name="nyt2020Election" /><ref name="politico2020Election">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the same time that McConnell refused to recognize Biden, he celebrated Republicans who won their Senate and House races in the same elections.<ref name="nyt2020Election" /><ref name="politico2020Election" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On December 15, the day after the electoral college vote, McConnell reversed his stance and publicly acknowledged Biden's win, saying, "Today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 6, during the Electoral College vote count, McConnell spoke out against the efforts of Trump and his allies to overturn the election:
Later that day, he described the storming of the Capitol building (which occurred while the Electoral College votes were being counted) as a "failed insurrection" that "tried to disrupt our democracy".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On April 10, 2021, Trump called McConnell a "dumb son of a bitch". Trump added: "I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you?"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Trump has continued to attack McConnell in personal terms since then, but McConnell has not responded publicly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Paul Cantanese, McClatchy reporter. (December 21, 2021). "If you can't beat him, ignore him. How McConnell survived a year of Trump's attacks". Lexington Herald-Leader website Template:Webarchive Retrieved December 22, 2021.</ref>
First impeachment
Template:Main On November 5, 2019, as the House of Representatives began public hearings on the impeachment of President Trump, McConnell said, "I'm pretty sure how [an impeachment trial is] likely to end. ... If it were today, I don't think there's any question. It would not lead to a removal."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On December 14, 2019, McConnell met with White House counsel Pat Cipollone and White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland. Later that day, he said that for Trump's impeachment trial, he would be in "total coordination with the White House counsel's office" and Trump's representatives.<ref name="dictatetrial">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also said there was "no chance" the Senate would convict Trump and remove him from office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On December 17, 2019, McConnell rejected a request to call four witnesses for Trump's impeachment trial because, according to McConnell, the Senate's role was to "act as judge and jury", not to investigate. Later that day, McConnell told the media: "I'm not an impartial juror [in this impeachment trial]. This is a political process. There's not anything judicial about it."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After Trump's acquittal, McConnell was noted for his ability to block witnesses, to secure Trump's acquittal, and to maintain party unity during the impeachment process. Commentators noted that he had kept Republican senators "marching in lockstep" throughout the process.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Second impeachment
On January 12, 2021, it was reported that McConnell supported impeaching Trump for his role in inciting the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, believing it would make it easier for Republicans to purge the party of Trump and rebuild the party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 13, despite having the authority to call for an emergency meeting of the Senate to hold the Senate trial,Template:Failed verification McConnell did not reconvene the chamber, claiming unanimous consent was required.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He called for delaying the Senate trial until after Biden's inauguration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Once the Senate trial started, McConnell voted to acquit Trump on February 13, 2021, saying it was unconstitutional to convict a president who was no longer in office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The vote to convict was a bipartisan majority (57–43) but not enough to pass the two-thirds threshold.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the vote, McConnell lambasted and condemned Trump in a 20-minute speech on the Senate floor, saying he believed Trump was guilty of everything the House managers alleged.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He said:
He explained why he nonetheless voted to acquit: "Article II, Section 4 must have force. It tells us the President, Vice President, and civil officers may be impeached and convicted. Donald Trump is no longer the president. Clearly that mandatory sentence cannot be applied to somebody who has left office. The entire process revolves around removal. If removal becomes impossible, conviction becomes insensible." Yet he said that Trump "didn't get away with anything yet" since Trump would remain subject to the country's criminal and civil laws.<ref name="republicanleader.senate.gov" />
When there was a proposal for an independent commission to investigate the January 6 United States Capitol attack, McConnell sought to organize Republican senators to filibuster it,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and on May 28, 2021, he voted against its creation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Second term
McConnell stepped down as Senate Republican leader in 2024, months before the 2024 United States elections. John Thune was elected to succeed him after Republicans regained the majority in the 2024 U.S. Senate elections.<ref name="Price of Power">Template:Cite book</ref>
McConnell has been described as largely irrelevant in Trump's second term.<ref name="Irrelevant">Template:Cite web</ref> He has voted against three of Trump's cabinet nominees: Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, Tulsi Gabbard for the Director of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
McConnell has announced he will retire at the end of his term in 2027, when he will be 84 years old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Biden
McConnell's relationship with the Biden administration has been portrayed in media as one of comity. Biden has described McConnell as "a friend, colleague and 'man of his word.'" McConnell has praised bipartisan legislation they worked on together, and was the only Republican to attend the 2015 funeral of Biden's son Beau Biden.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2021, McConnell helped pass a bill that extended the debt ceiling. He convinced 11 Republicans to vote with the Democrats for it, without which the United States would have defaulted on its debts.<ref name="BBCdebt21">Template:Cite web</ref>
Judicial nominees
Under Obama
Throughout Obama's tenure, McConnell led Senate Republicans in what has been called "a disciplined, sustained, at times underhanded campaign to deny the Democratic president the opportunity to appoint federal judges".<ref name=McRemake>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2009, after Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor as associate justice, McConnell and Jeff Sessions opined that Sotomayor's 17 years as a federal judge and over 3,600 judicial opinions would require lengthy review and advocated against Democrats hastening the confirmation process.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 17, McConnell announced that he would vote against Sotomayor's confirmation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August, McConnell called Sotomayor "a fine person with an impressive story and a distinguished background" but said he did not believe she would withhold her personal or political views while serving as a justice. Sotomayor was confirmed days later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2010, after President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to succeed the retiring John Paul Stevens, McConnell said in a Senate speech that Americans wanted to make sure Kagan would be independent of influence from White House as an associate justice and noted that Obama called Kagan a friend of his in announcing her nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell announced his opposition to Kagan's confirmation, saying she was not forthcoming enough about her "views on basic principles of American constitutional law".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kagan was confirmed the next month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2014, Republicans gained control of the Senate, and McConnell became majority leader; he used his new power to start what was considered "a near blockade" of Obama's judicial appointments. According to The New York Times, Obama's final two years as president saw 18 district court judges and one appeals court judge confirmed, the fewest since President Harry S. Truman. In comparison, the final two years of the presidencies of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan had between 55 and 70 district court judges each confirmed and between 10 and 15 appeals court judges confirmed.<ref name=McRemake/> The Los Angeles Times wrote that McConnell brought about an "extraordinary two-year slowdown in judicial confirmations", detailing 22 confirmations of Obama's judicial nominees, the lowest since Truman in 1951–1952. The number of federal judicial vacancies at the end of Obama's term was more than twice the number at the end of George W. Bush's term.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a 2019 interview, McConnell credited himself for the large number of judicial vacancies created in the last two years of Obama's presidency.<ref name="dictatetrial" />
On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly thereafter, McConnell issued a statement indicating that the Senate would not consider any Supreme Court nominee Obama put forth.<ref name="Homans-2019" /><ref name="politico160213">Template:Cite news</ref> "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president", McConnell said.<ref name="politico160213"/> On March 16, 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Under McConnell's direction, Senate Republicans refused to take any action on the nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In an August 2016 speech in Kentucky, McConnell said, "one of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.'"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2018, McConnell said the decision not to act on Garland's nomination was "the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Political scientists and legal scholars called McConnell's refusal to hold Senate hearings on Garland "unprecedented",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a "culmination of [his] confrontational style",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a "blatant abuse of constitutional norms",<ref name="Mounk-2018">Template:Cite book</ref> and a "classic example of constitutional hardball".<ref name="Fishkin-2018" />
Under Trump
In January 2017, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left after Scalia's death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gorsuch's nomination was confirmed on April 7, 2017, after McConnell eliminated the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On July 18, 2018, with Andy Oldham's Senate confirmation, Senate Republicans broke a record for largest number of appeals court judiciary confirmations during a president's first two years; Oldham became the 23rd appeals court judge confirmed in Trump's term.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McConnell said he considers the judiciary to be the item of Trump's first two years with the longest-lasting impact on the country. The record for the number of circuit court judges confirmed during a president's first year was broken in 2017, while the previous two-year record of 22 confirmations took place under President George H. W. Bush.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By March 2020, McConnell had contacted an unknown number of judges, encouraging them to retire before the 2020 election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He confirmed 260 federal judges during Trump's four-year term, shifting the federal judiciary to the right.
In July 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. McConnell accused Democrats of creating an "extreme" distortion of Kavanaugh's record during his hearings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2018, Christine Blasey Ford publicly alleged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in 1982. After it was reported that Democrats were investigating a second allegation against Kavanaugh, McConnell said, "I want to make it perfectly clear. ... Judge Kavanaugh will be voted on here on the Senate floor."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell said the confirmation process was a low point for the Senate, but also downplayed reports of dysfunction in the Senate; he said claims that the Senate was "somehow broken over this [were] simply inaccurate".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 2018, McConnell said if a Supreme Court vacancy were to occur in 2020, he would not repeat his 2016 decision to let the winner of the upcoming presidential election nominate a justice. He argued that because in 2016 the Senate was controlled by a party other than the president's, the 2016 precedent was not applicable in 2020, when Republicans controlled both the presidency and Senate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2020, after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, he announced the Senate would vote on Trump's nominated replacement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On October 23, McConnell set in place the Senate debate on the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ginsburg's seat. Barrett was confirmed on October 26.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Government shutdowns
The federal government shut down on October 1–17, 2013, after Congress failed to enact legislation to fund it. McConnell later vowed Republicans would not force the U.S. to default on its debt or shut down the government in 2014, when stopgap funding measures were set to expire. He also said he would not allow other Republicans to obstruct the budget-making process.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In July 2018, McConnell said funding for the Mexico–United States border wall would likely have to wait until the midterms had concluded. Trump tweeted two days later that he was willing to allow a government shutdown to get funding.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several spending bills were approved that August; the approvals were seen as a victory for McConnell in his attempts to prevent another government shutdown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Shutdown of 2018–2019
From December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019, the federal government shut down when Congress refused to give in to Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 2018, the Republican-controlled Senate unanimously passed an appropriations bill without wall funding, and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Trump appeared likely to approve the bill. After Trump faced heavy criticism from some right-wing media outlets and pundits for appearing to back down on his campaign promise to "build the wall", he said he would not sign any appropriations bill that did not fund the wall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During this shutdown, McConnell blocked the Senate from voting on appropriations legislation and said it was not his place to mediate between the Senate and Trump.<ref name="Bresnahan-2019">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Nilsen-2019">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Itkowitz-2019">Template:Cite news</ref> Privately, McConnell had advised Trump against initiating the shutdown.<ref name="Homans-2019" /> Democrats criticized McConnell for not putting appropriations legislation up for a vote, noting that the Republican-controlled Senate had unanimously passed an appropriations bill without wall funding and that the Senate could override Trump's veto.<ref name="Bresnahan-2019" /><ref name="Nilsen-2019" /><ref name="Itkowitz-2019" />
By January 23, McConnell had blocked four Senate bills to reopen the government and a bill funding the Homeland Security Department through February 8. He called for Democrats to support a Trump administration-backed measure that included $5.7 billion in wall funding, together with a temporary extension of protections for DACA recipients, a Democratic priority.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Privately, other Republican senators pressured McConnell to stop blocking appropriations legislation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The shutdown ended on January 25, when Trump signed a three-week funding measure reopening the government until February 15 without funds for a border wall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was the longest government shutdown in American history.<ref name="Homans-2019" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
COVID-19 response
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, McConnell initially opposed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, calling it a Democratic "ideological wish list".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He reversed his position when Trump endorsed the proposed package.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 90–8.
McConnell also directed Senate Republicans in negotiations for two other COVID-19 response packages: the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 and the CARES Act. The CARES Act was the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history,<ref>Wire, Sarah D. (March 25, 2020) "Senate passes $2-trillion economic stimulus package Template:Webarchive". Los Angeles Times.</ref> amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product.<ref>Kambhampati, Sandhya (March 26, 2020). "The coronavirus stimulus package versus the Recovery Act Template:Webarchive". Los Angeles Times.</ref> It passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt radio show on April 22, 2020, McConnell suggested that states should be able to declare bankruptcy instead of receiving additional COVID-19 aid funds—funds he implied would be used to save insolvent state pension funds instead of for COVID-19 relief. His comments were sharply criticized by various state and local officials. States cannot declare bankruptcy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After the CARES Act passed, McConnell waited several months before advancing any additional COVID-19 relief measures in the Senate, saying in May, "I don't think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately" and that Congress should "[hit] pause" to evaluate how the allocated funds were working before approving more.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was absent from negotiations between congressional Democrats and White House officials for an additional aid package.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On September 10, 2020, a pared-down COVID-19 relief bill crafted by McConnell failed to pass the Senate because of a Democratic filibuster.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Democrats called the bill "completely inadequate" given the scope of the COVID-19 crisis<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a partisan maneuver to help Republican senators up for reelection.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell called the bill a choice between "do[ing] something" and "do[ing] nothing",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and said he was holding the procedural vote to get lawmakers on the record about their willingness to compromise on COVID-19 legislation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Approval ratings
As the leader of the Senate Republicans, McConnell has received much of the criticism and disapproval that Republicans receive from Democratic voters, receiving near uniform disapproval from left-of-center voters. Furthermore, as a result of his unpopularity with Trump and the more populist base, McConnell has had historically low approval for a senator by the electorate as a whole: a 2012 poll and a 2016 poll each found that McConnell had the lowest home-state approval rating of any sitting senator.<ref name=Smart>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> With a 49% disapproval rate in 2017, McConnell had the highest disapproval rating of any senator.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In September 2019, the Morning Consult found that McConnell's approval rating had been underwater since the first quarter of 2017, when it was 44% positive and 47% negative. The worst rating since that time was in the fourth quarter of 2018, when he had a 38% positive rating and a 47% negative rating among Kentuckians.<ref name=Morning /> At that time he was briefly not the least popular senator, surpassed by Claire McCaskill and Jeff Flake.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> But as of the second quarter of 2019, McConnell's ratings were 36% positive and 50% negative. He netted −56 among Democrats, +29 among Republicans, and −24 among Independents.<ref name=Morning>Template:Cite web</ref> An average of polls by the Economist/YouGov, Politico/Morning Consult, and Harvard-Harris from the end of July through August 2019 (7/31–8/27), was 23% favorable and 48% unfavorable (−25.0 spread).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2020, according to Morning Consult, Susan Collins edged out McConnell as the least popular senator with a 52% unfavorable rating from Maine voters compared to 50% for McConnell.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Committee assignments
McConnell's committee assignments for the 118th Congress are as follows:<ref name="118thCongressAssignments">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Committee on Rules and Administration (Chair)
Political positions
Template:Main Template:Conservatism US
McConnell has taken conservative stances for the past several decades. During his Senate tenure, he led opposition to stricter campaign finance laws,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> culminating in the Supreme Court ruling that partially overturned the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) in 2010. He led opposition to Obamacare,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> first through efforts to delay or prevent the law's passage, and later to repeal or replace it, including via the American Healthcare Reform Act. McConnell has opposed stronger regulations, gun control measures, and efforts to mitigate climate change. He has criticized proposed legislation by House Democrats such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All,<ref name = "GrimReaper">Template:Cite web</ref> and was criticized by Nancy Pelosi for withholding votes on measures passed by the Democratic-controlled House during his time as Senate majority leader, including the For the People Act of 2019, the Equality Act, and the Paycheck Fairness Act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell has supported stronger border security, free trade agreements, and reductions in taxes. As Senate majority leader, he led the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act in 2018.
His foreign policy views have included support of sanctions on Cuba, Iran, and Russia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> support of Ukraine during its invasion by Russia,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, and support of Israel in its Gaza war.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He voted for the Iraq Resolution, which authorized military action against Iraq,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and publicly supported the Iraq War troop surge of 2007.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2025, he supported Israel in the Iran–Israel War and called for military intervention by the United States against Iran.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Earlier in his political career, during the 1960s and 1970s, McConnell held moderate stances, including support of abortions, support of unions, and support of the civil rights movement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, McConnell expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage stating “I’ve always felt that marriage is between one man and one woman and the Supreme Court has held otherwise. That’s the law of the land.”<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | Votes for McConnell | Result | Swing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | Template:Abbr. | Template:Tooltip | |||||||||||
| 1984 | Senator | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | C. Roger Harker | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 39,465 | 79.22% | 1st | N/A | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A |
| General | Walter Dee Huddleston (I) | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 644,990 | 49.90% | 1st | +13.03% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Gain | ||||
| 1990 | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | Tommy Klein | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 64,063 | 88.52% | 1st | +9.30% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A | |
| General | Harvey I. Sloane | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 478,034 | 52.19% | 1st | +2.28% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | ||||
| 1996 | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | Tommy Klein | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 88,620 | 88.59% | 1st | +0.07% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A | |
| General | Steve Beshear | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 724,794 | 55.45% | 1st | +3.27% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | ||||
| 2002 | General | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | Lois Combs Weinberg | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 731,679 | 64.68% | 1st | +9.22% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | |
| 2008 | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | Daniel Essek | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 168,127 | 86.09% | 1st | −2.50% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A | |
| General | Bruce Lunsford | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 953,816 | 52.97% | 1st | −11.7% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | ||||
| 2014 | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | Matt Bevin | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 213,753 | 60.19% | 1st | −25.9% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A | |
| General | Alison Lundergan Grimes | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 806,787 | 56.19% | 1st | +3.22% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | ||||
| 2020 | Primary | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | C. Wesley Morgan | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Republican | 342,660 | 82.80% | 1st | +22.61 | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | N/A | |
| General | Amy McGrath | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Democratic | 1,233,315 | 57.76% | 1st | +1.57% | Template:Yes2 | style="background-color:Template:Party color;" | | Hold | ||||
1984
In 1984, McConnell ran for the U.S. Senate against two-term Democratic incumbent Walter Dee Huddleston. The election race was not decided until the last returns came in, when McConnell won by 3,437 votes out of more than 1.2 million votes cast, just over 0.4%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell was the only Republican Senate challenger to win that year, despite Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McConnell was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Kentucky since 1968, and benefited from the popularity of President Ronald Reagan, up for re-election, who was supported by 60% of Kentucky voters in the same year.<ref name="Costa">Template:Cite book</ref>
1990
In 1990, McConnell faced former Louisville Mayor Harvey I. Sloane, winning by 4.4%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1996
In 1996, he defeated Steve Beshear by 12.6%,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the state. McConnell's campaign ran television ads warning voters to not "Get BeSheared" and included images of sheep being sheared.<ref name=corny>Template:Cite news</ref>
2002
In 2002, he was unopposed in the Republican primary. He then defeated Lois Combs Weinberg by 29.4%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008
In 2008, McConnell faced his closest contest since 1990. He defeated Bruce Lunsford by 6%.<ref name="almanac"/>
2014
In 2014, McConnell faced Louisville businessman Matt Bevin in the Republican primary.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 60.2% won by McConnell was the lowest voter support for a Kentucky U.S. senator in a primary since 1938.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He faced Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in the general election, and defeated Grimes, 56.2–40.7%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020
In the November 2020 general election, McConnell faced Democratic nominee Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot; and Libertarian nominee Brad Barron, a businessman and farmer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the campaign, McConnell and McGrath agreed to one hour-long, socially distanced debate on October 12.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McConnell was elected to his seventh term on November 3 when he defeated McGrath by nearly 20 percentage points.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
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Family
McConnell is a Southern Baptist, baptized at age 8.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was married to his first wife, Sherrill Redmon, from 1968 to 1980 and had three daughters, Porter, Eleanor (Elly), and Claire.<ref>How Mitch McConnell became Trump's enabler-in-chief Template:Webarchive, The New Yorker, Jane Mayer, April 12, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>: Facts & Related Content Template:Webarchive, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.</ref> Porter McConnell is the campaign director for Take on Wall Street, a left-wing advocacy coalition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following her divorce from McConnell, Redmon became a feminist scholar at Smith College and director of the Sophia Smith Collection.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McConnell's second wife, whom he married in 1993, is Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush and Secretary of Transportation under President Donald Trump.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2019, McConnell's brother-in-law Gordon Hartogensis, who is married to Chao's sister Grace, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a part of the Labor Department.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell voted to confirm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Health
McConnell's upper left leg was paralyzed during his childhood by polio.<ref name="memoir" />
In February 2003, McConnell underwent a triple heart bypass surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, in relation to blocked arteries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Falls
In August 2019, McConnell fractured his shoulder in a fall at his Louisville home.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2023, he was hospitalized for five days after a fall; he was treated for a concussion and a minor rib fracture,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and did not return to the Senate for almost six weeks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2023, he fell while disembarking from a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On December 10, 2024, McConnell fell during a Senate Republican Conference policy luncheon, spraining his wrist and cutting his face.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 16, 2025, he fell at the US Capitol Building while being doorstepped by an amateur reporter, whose cameraman recorded the incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Freezing episodes
On July 26, 2023, McConnell prompted worldwide media reports when he froze, unspeaking, for around 20 seconds while addressing a press conference.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was escorted away by aides, but later returned and said he was "fine".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two days after the incident, his spokespersons said that McConnell would continue in his leadership role; he is the institution's longest-serving party leader.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On August 30, 2023, he again froze during a press conference in Covington, Kentucky and was eventually led away by staff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A day later, McConnell released a letter from the attending physician of Congress that said he was "medically clear" to continue his schedule as planned;<ref name="2023medical letter">Template:Cite tweet</ref> the letter said that the physician had talked to McConnell and "conferred with his neurology team", but did not indicate that he had physically examined McConnell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other
In 1997, McConnell founded the James Madison Center for Free Speech, a legal-defense organization based in Washington, D.C.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution on March 1, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2018, the OpenSecrets website ranked McConnell one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. Senate, with a net worth of more than $25 million.<ref name="net-worth">Template:Cite web</ref> His personal wealth grew in 2008, when he and his wife received a gift worth about $5 million to about $25 million from her father, James S. C. Chao, after the death of his wife.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In popular culture
McConnell's detractors have called him by a number of nicknames, including "Moscow Mitch",<ref name = "MoscowMitch">Template:Cite news</ref> "Cocaine Mitch",<ref name = "MoscowMitch" /> the "Grim Reaper",<ref name = "GrimReaper" /> "Darth Vader",<ref name = "DarkSide">Template:Cite news</ref> "Rich Mitch",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Nuclear Mitch",<ref name = "DarkSide" /> "Midnight Mitch",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and "Old Crow".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell embraces several of them, but he has objected strenuously to "Moscow Mitch".Template:Efn<ref name = "MoscowMitch"/>
Jon Stewart repeatedly mocked McConnell on The Daily Show for resembling a turtle or tortoise.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McConnell has been portrayed by Beck Bennett in sketches on Saturday Night Live.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, McConnell was portrayed satirically in South ParkTemplate:'s season 21 episode "Doubling Down".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During the 2014 election campaign, McConnell was lampooned for posting campaign B-roll footage online for use by allied PACs. Various Internet posters satirically interspersed the B-roll with footage from sitcoms and movies and with popular music. The practice of posting B-roll footage online for use by PACs or of lampooning the B-roll was termed "McConnelling".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2015, 2019, and 2023, Time listed McConnell as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.<ref name="Boehner"/><ref name="Time"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
- Senator Mitch McConnell official U.S. Senate website
- Mitch McConnell for Senate
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