Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Thursday he will not seek re-election for his seat in 2026, ending his career as one of the body's most influential power broker.

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.

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.