Senator Mitch McConnell exhibits another momentary pause during a Kentucky event 

Addison Mitchell McConnell III, born on February 20, 1942, is an American politician and former attorney who currently serves his seventh term as a United States senator representing Kentucky. He also holds the position of Senate Minority Leader for the second time in his career, with his previous tenure lasting from 2007 to 2015. During the period of Republican control from 2015 to 2021, he served as Senate Majority Leader. McConnell has maintained his leadership role within the Senate Republican Conference since 2007.

Before his career in the Senate, McConnell served as Deputy United States Assistant Attorney General during President Gerald Ford’s administration from 1974 to 1975. Subsequently, he held the position of Jefferson County Judge/Executive in Kentucky from 1977 to 1984. In 1984, McConnell was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the second Kentuckian to lead a party in the Senate.

Throughout his political journey, McConnell assumed various key roles, including chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. He was elected Majority Whip in the 108th Congress and was re-elected to the position in 2004. In November 2006, he took on the role of Senate Minority Leader, a position he held until Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2015.

McConnell is known for his conservative political stances, although he initially garnered a reputation as a pragmatic and moderate Republican. Notably, he led the opposition against stricter campaign finance laws, culminating in the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This ruling partially overturned the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold).

During the Obama administration, McConnell employed tactics like the filibuster to withhold Republican support for major presidential initiatives and blocked many of President Obama’s judicial nominees, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

In the era of the Trump administration, McConnell, as Senate Majority Leader, oversaw the passage of significant legislation, including 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. His leadership also confirmed a record number of federal appeals court judges during the first two years of Trump’s presidency. McConnell notably used the “nuclear option” to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to end filibusters for Supreme Court nominations.

Despite his overall support for many of Trump’s policies, McConnell criticized Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial but stated that Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.