Republican Mitch McConnell breaks US Senate leadership record
As the 118th United States Congress convenes for the first time on Tuesday, its upper chamber is marking a record broken by Senator Mitch McConnell, who has become the longest-serving Senate leader in history.
McConnell, an 80-year-old Republican from Kentucky, has surpassed the late Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield’s record of 16 years. McConnell has served as Republican party leader in the Senate since 2007.
Tuesday’s milestone in the Senate comes in stark contrast to the drama unfolding in the House of Representatives, where McConnell’s counterpart — top Republican Kevin McCarthy — faces opposition within his own party to his bid to become House Speaker.
By the end of the Congressional session on Tuesday, McCarthy had failed to rally enough support in three separate votes, leaving the position of Speaker unclaimed.
McConnell, likewise, encountered opposition when he mounted a bid to be reelected to his leadership post in November. But he handily overcame a challenge from Florida Senator Rick Scott, scooping up 37 Republican votes, enough to trounce the 10 votes in favour of Scott.
In the 118th Congress, McConnell returns to his position as minority leader, after the Democrats thwarted a “red wave” in last November’s midterm elections. They retained a slender majority in the 100-seat Senate, thanks to wins in key states like Georgia, where Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock retained his seat in a December run-off.
Another incumbent fresh from a midterm victory was Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, who had a record of his own to break. The Senate majority leader, Schumer became the longest-serving senator for his state on Tuesday, as Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the swearing-in ceremony.
The ceremony was also a chance to welcome seven new members to the Senate floor: two Democrats and five Republicans. One of those newcomers was Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, a Democrat and the only candidate to flip a Senate seat in the 2022 midterms.