Mitch McConnell

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 ruling Citizens United v. FEC that 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, having made frequent use of the filibuster, and blocked many of President Obama's judicial nominees, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.


During the Trump administration, the Senate Republican majority under his 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, 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 previously eliminated the filibuster for all other presidential nominations; Trump subsequently won confirmation battles on Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. While supportive of most of Trump's domestic and foreign policies, McConnell was critical of Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and despite voting to acquit on Trump's second impeachment trial on reasons related to the constitutionality of impeaching a former president, deemed him "practically and morally responsible" for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.^[2]

Family

McConnell is married to former secretary of transportation and former secretary of labor Elaine Chao. In 2015, 2019 and 2023, Time listed McConnell as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.^[3][4] On February 28, 2024, McConnell announced that he would be stepping down as the Senate Republican Conference Leader in January 2025, but would serve out the remainder of his current Senate term.^[5][6][7]

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, Kentucky.^[22] This was a coveted position because the Reserve units were mostly kept out of combat during the Vietnam War.^{[22][23]: 11–12} 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.^[16][22] Shortly after his arrival he was diagnosed with optic neuritis and deemed medically unfit for military service, and was honorably discharged.^[22][24] His brief time in service has repeatedly been put at issue by his political opponents during his electoral campaigns.^[22][24][25]


McConnell first served as a Deputy United States Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald Ford from 1974 until 1975 and went on to serve as Jefferson County Judge/Executive from 1977 until 1984 in his home state of Kentucky. McConnell was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and is the second Kentuckian to serve as a party leader in the Senate.^[26] During the 1998 and 2000 election cycles, he was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He was elected Majority Whip to Bill Frist in the 108th Congress and re-elected to the post in 2004. In November 2006 he was elected Senate minority leader, the post he held until Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015.


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 speech writing and constituent services.^[27]


In 1971, McConnell returned to Louisville, where he worked for Tom Emberton's candidacy for Governor of Kentucky, which was unsuccessful.^[27] 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.^[27] He then went to work for a Louisville law firm – Segal, Isenberg, Sales and Stewart – for a few years.^[28][27] During the same time period, he taught a night class on political science at the University of Louisville.^[21][29][30]


In October 1974, McConnell returned to Washington to fill a position as Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald Ford, where he worked alongside Robert Bork, Laurence Silberman, and Antonin Scalia.^[21][27] He also served as acting United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs under President Ford in 1975.^[31][32]


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 re-elected in 1981 against Jefferson County Commissioner Jim "Pop" Malone, 51% to 47%, outspending Malone 3–1, and occupied this office until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1984.^[19][27]