Despite a report to the contrary, it appears that U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will not be retiring.
In fact, he has announced his return to the Senate.
McConnell made the announcement via his official Twitter account on Thursday.
He wrote:
I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday. We've got important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and the American people.
Fox News reports that the 81-year-old McConnell has been absent from the U.S. Senate for a little over a month now since his fall at a dinner event that he attended back in early March.
As a result of that fall, McConnell suffered a concussion and a fractured rib, which required hospitalization and rehabilitative therapy.
During this time, McConnell has taken time off from the Senate.
On March 25, 2023, McConnell put out a statement in which he provided an update on his situation.
He wrote:
I want to sincerely thank everyone for all the kind wishes. I’m happy to say I finished inpatient physical therapy earlier today and I’m glad to be home. I’m going to follow the advice of my physical therapists and spend the next few days working for Kentuckians and the Republican Conference from home. I’m in frequent touch with my Senate colleagues and my staff. I look forward to returning in person to the Senate soon.
While McConnell has been away, there has been much speculation about his possible retirement. Rumors began circulating that other Senate Republicans were beginning to position themselves for a potential run at McConnell's leadership position.
The Spectator, in a report that it published mid-day on Thursday, confirmed these rumors.
Per the outlet:
Now multiple sources confirm that Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Thune of South Dakota are actively reaching out to fellow Republican senators in efforts to prepare for an anticipated leadership vote — a vote that would occur upon announcement that McConnell would be retiring from his duties as leader, and presumably the Senate itself.
It was within hours of this report that McConnell announced his plans to return to the Senate next week. Clearly, this is no coincidence, but, rather, McConnell attempting to squash such rumors.
McConnell remains one of the least popular politicians in the U.S. government. His favorability rating, on average, is only 20.6%, and to get a rating that low one has to not only be disliked by the opposition but also by one's own party. McConnell, nonetheless, continues to cling to his political power.
