McConnell announces next steps after leaving Senate leadership post

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday revealed the next steps for his career in the upper chamber, announcing that he plans to take on two key roles in the next Congress.

McConnell announced in February that he plans to step down as the long-time Republican leader in the Senate at the end of the year, and South Dakota Sen. John Thune was elected last week to take his place.

The Kentucky conservative said that he now plans to chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and lead the Senate Rules Committee.

“America’s national security interests face the gravest array of threats since the Second World War," McConnell said in a statement. "At this critical moment, a new Senate Republican majority has a responsibility to secure the future of U.S. leadership and primacy."

The senator also remarked that he remains committed to "protecting the right to political speech in our elections," as leader of the Rules committee, and to protecting the Senate as an institution.

"The Senate Rules Committee will also have important work to accomplish in the 119th Congress, and I look forward to leading it as Chairman," he said. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.