Name: Mitch McConnell: How the Senate Leader Leveraged His Power Over 17 Years | WSJ
Uploaded: 2024-03-02T00:11:18.000Z
Duration: 7 min 17 s
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- One of life's most underappreciated talents

is to know when it's time to move on to life's next chapter.

Mitch McConnell announced he will step down

There may be more distinguished members of this body

throughout our history, but I doubt there were any

- [Reporter] Now the longest serving party leader

- [Reporter] McConnell cultivated political clout

and a reputation as a master legislative strategist.

But in recent years, he also faced concerns over his health

- [Announcer] Switch to Mitch for Senator.

- [Reporter] Mitch McConnell was first elected to Congress

He served as the Republican whip for four years

before becoming the head of his conference.

He would be voted leader eight more times

across four presidential administrations.

- Mitch McConnell is almost universally respected.

"Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?" They ask.

Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?

or your biggest liability on literally everything

I remember him saying sort of tongue-in-cheek,

- [Reporter] Wielding brass knuckle tactics

- Our top political priority over the next two years

should be to deny President Obama a second term.

being the most unpopular person that he can be,

and his view is he's not doing his job if you like him.

Like, he's just, there's no good decisions you can make

comes many legislative highs and lows for McConnell.

cast the decisive no vote on the repeal of Obamacare,

- [Reporter] Shortly after that, McConnell was able

to deliver on passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut,

- Probably from a legislative perspective,

the signature accomplishment of the entire Trump presidency.

- [Reporter] Some of McConnell's achievements

In 2016, McConnell refused to hold confirmation hearings

- We're not giving lifetime appointments to this president

on the way out the door to change the Supreme Court

- [Reporter] In October, 2020 with Trump in the White House,

confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the high court

just days before the presidential election.

- A lot of what we've done over the last four years

will be undone sooner or later by the next election.

- [Reporter] The appointment was met with strong criticism

but they're erecting a monument to hypocrisy

- McConnell has cemented a conservative majority

on the Supreme Court for at least a generation.

- [Reporter] One of the greatest challenges