Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, who acquired the moniker "Grim Reaper" as the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, said on Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending a decades-long career that helped steer American politics decisively to the right.

The Kentucky Republican has served more than 40 years in the chamber, and became one of the most consequential and divisive legislators in recent history.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. − Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has spent nearly half a century in the nation's Capitol shaping Republican priorities while thwarting Democratic policies, will not seek reelection when his term expires next year.