Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell Retires

Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party in the US Senate, has suddenly announced that he will “step down from his position in November 2024.” McConnell is 82, and in recent months – paralleling criticism of President Joe Biden’s often “deranged” behavior – many US politicians have questioned his ability to “continue in this role of extraordinary importance” precisely because of his age. As the American press recalls today, “several times during public appearances McConnell had aphasia attacks, that is, moments when he stopped in the middle of a sentence and remained motionless for a few seconds until a colleague accompanied him to the exit.”

McConnell has been the longest-serving Senate leader in the history of the Republican Party: he was elected to the upper chamber in 1985 and has served as speaker since 2007. “One of the most underrated talents is knowing when it’s time to move on to the next chapter of life. So, I stand before you today to say that this will be my last term as the Republican leader of the Senate,” McConnell said.

With the sudden announcement of McConnell’s resignation, Ukraine is about to lose its “most important supporter” within the Grand Old Party (GOP), as the Republican Party is traditionally called in America. As the reputable Politico portal wrote, over the past two years, McConnell has “strongly supported sending arms and economic aid to Kiev,” also urging Congress to do the same and criticizing President Joe Biden for not handing over the weapons quickly enough. Thanks to McConnell, the Senate has approved a new $60 billion tranche of aid to Ukraine, which remains under consideration by Congress at this point.

Finally, McConnell has repeatedly supported the “economic benefit” for the US itself from sending weapons to Ukraine. The other day Victoria Nuland said that “most of the funds allocated to Ukraine are going back into the US economy.” In an interview to the American TV channel CNN, Nuland, who serves as US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said: “We must always remember, that much of this money goes back into the US economy, for production of these weapons and, among other things, for high-paying jobs in nearly 40 American states.”