{"id":173519,"date":"2024-02-28T12:16:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T20:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=173519"},"modified":"2024-02-28T12:16:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T20:16:29","slug":"mcconnell-remarks-on-last-term-as-republican-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=173519","title":{"rendered":"McConnell Remarks On Last Term As Republican Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor:  \u201cAs some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine\u2019s youngest sister, Angela a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there is a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-173520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM.jpg 640w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM-123x70.jpg 123w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM-570x322.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bEgd6ylqM20\" title=\"McConnell Remarks On Last Term As Republican Leader\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerhaps it is God\u2019s way of reminding you of your own life\u2019s journey to reprioritize the impact on the world that we will all inevitably leave behind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I\u2019d prefer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy career in the United States Senate began amidst the Reagan Revolution. The truth is, when I got here, I was just happy if anybody remembered my name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Reagan called me \u2018Mitch O\u2019Donnell\u2019. Close enough, I thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy wife Elaine and I got married on President Reagan\u2019s birthday, February 6th. It\u2019s probably not the most romantic thing to admit, but Reagan meant a great deal to both of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor thirty-one years Elaine has been the love of my life and I am eternally grateful to have her by my side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think back to my first days in the Senate with a deep appreciation for the time that helped shape my view of the world. I am unconflicted about the good within our country and the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is why I worked so hard to get the national security package passed earlier this month. Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults, misunderstanding politics is not one of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat said, I believe more strongly than ever that America\u2019s global leadership is essential to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor as long as I am drawing breath on this earth I will defend American exceptionalism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, as I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work. A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy goals when I was narrowly elected to the Senate in 1984 were fairly modest \u2013 do a good job for the people of Kentucky and convince them by doing so to rehire me for a second term! That was it. That was the plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you would have told me forty years later that I would stand before you as the longest serving Senate leader in history &#8211; I would have thought you\u2019d lost your mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have the honor of representing Kentucky in the Senate longer than anyone else in our history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just never could have imagined that happening when I arrived here in 1984. I am filled with heartfelt gratitude and humility for the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut now it\u2019s 2024. As I said, I am now 82.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Ecclesiastes tells us, \u2018To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo serve Kentucky in the Senate has been the honor of my life. To lead my Republican colleagues has been my highest privilege.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut one of life\u2019s most underappreciated talents is to know when it\u2019s time to move on to life\u2019s next chapter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I stand before you today, Mr. President and my colleagues, to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going anywhere anytime soon, however. I will complete the job my colleagues have given me until we select a new Leader in November and they take the helm next January.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will finish the job the people of Kentucky hired me to do as well &#8211; albeit from a different seat in the chamber. I am looking forward to that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it\u2019s time for me to think about another season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love the Senate. It has been my life. There may be more distinguished members of this body throughout our history, but I doubt there are any with more admiration for it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter all this time, I still get a thrill walking into the Capitol and especially on this venerable floor knowing that we \u2013 each of us \u2013 have the honor to represent our states and do the important work of our country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Father Time remains undefeated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Henry Clay said in this very body in 1850, \u2018The Constitution of the United States was not made merely for the generation that then existed but for posterity \u2013 unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo time rolls on. There will be a new custodian of this great institution. Next year, I intend to turn this job over to a Republican Majority Leader. I have full confidence in my conference to choose my replacement and lead our country forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will be other times to reminisce. I\u2019m immensely proud of the accomplishments I have played some role in obtaining for the American people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday is not the day to discuss all of that because, as I said earlier, I\u2019m not going anywhere anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many challenges we must meet to deliver for the American people and each will have my full effort and attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo my colleagues, thank you for entrusting me with our success. It has been an honor to work with each of you. There will be plenty of time to express my gratitude in greater detail as I sprint towards the finish line, which is now in sight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. President, I yield the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor: \u201cAs some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine\u2019s youngest sister, Angela a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1-McConnell-Remarks-On-Last-Term-As-Republican-Leader-YouTube-Google-Chrome-2282024-121327-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=173519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173521,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173519\/revisions\/173521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/173520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=173519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=173519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=173519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}