Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is urging his colleagues to rejects calls for term limits on the position he’s held since 2007.
During their weekly Senate Republican Conference meeting, McConnell opposed the idea of imposing term limits, according to two sources who spoke with Axios. He was reportedly one of several senators to speak at the meeting called by Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson.
McConnell, 82, is the longest serving Senate party leader in U.S. history. His was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984.
Though he remains a substantial force, McConnell’s voice carries less weight than it used to, as Breitbart’s Paul Bois reports:
The prospect of supporting term limits has been an open debate among Republicans over the past few weeks. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who will be running to replace McConnell as leader in the wake of his stepping down, said this month that he supports term limits. “One reason I am running to be the next Republican Leader is because I believe the Senate needs more engagement from all of my colleagues, and that includes the opportunity for any Member to serve in Leadership. I will support a conference vote to change the rules and institute term limits for the Republican Leader,” he said.
Neither Cornyn nor Sen. John Thune (R.SD), who will also be running to replace McConnell, spoke during the meeting. This month, Mitch McConnell called the idea of term limits “totally inappropriate,” saying elections themselves are term limits. “Well, we have term limits now. They’re called elections, and I had a contest myself during my last election as leader,” he said. “I think the conference ought to be able to be free to choose whoever. There’s no limit on the Speaker or the other House leaders,” he added. “That won’t be my decision to make, but I think it’s totally inappropriate.”
McConnell has spoken out against term limits for the position in the past.
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