let's go right to NBC's Julie cirin on Capitol Hill Julie what are we learning well big news but certainly not unexpected Mitch mcconell who is the longest serving party leader on either side of the aisle announced today on his 83rd birthday that he will not seek re-election in 2026 now this was expected but he makes it official today and this is notable for so many reasons of course he is 83 years old he's had some health concerns especially over the last year he's actually in a wheelchair right now that's how he gets around the capital
something he's refused to do he's a polio Survivor and so his balance has always been shaky but just in terms of the Legacy that he's been able to cement here we've seen during the first month frankly of the second Trump Administration that he voted against key nominees of President Trump including Pete hex including telsey gabir the way he votes on cash pel later today in the confirmation vote is still an open question but mconnell has really taken uh a stand against Trump especially when it comes to foreign policy this is somebody who over the next
year and a half Jose is going to have power as the top Republican on the defense uh subcommittee on the Appropriations Committee that essentially means that he will go face to face with Pete hex with the Pentagon with defense spending this is important for McConnell as he is somebody who has cemented his legacy around his uh foreign policy uh chops this is somebody who's the old guard of the Republican party that we don't really see in the new freshman class in terms of his support of Ukraine and his continued support of that country especially as
the president has made disparaging comments about President zalinsky and certainly McConnell uh in private and certainly in public not a fan of how Trump is going about all of this but this is of course a Monumental day it is an official day for McConnell he uh has some bad blood certainly not secret with Trump uh he's been ostracized and pushed out essentially of leadership uh because of that but he has taken his role behind the scenes quite seriously as I've already laid out uh and will see in just a few moments when he takes to
the floor and gives uh his floor speech about his decision what he will have to say there but it's also important to remember that while McConnell has taken this role as uh the Trump opposition in Chief here he is not somebody who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial and perhaps gave way to the second Trump term something of course McConnell long did not support but ultimately came around last year uh and made some uh amends with the president and supported him ultimately in his position there was
