McConnell Celebrates Senate Milestone

Republican is now the longest-serving Senate leader in history
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 3, 2023 6:21 PM CST
McConnell Becomes Longest-Serving Senate Leader
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, accompanied by his wife Iris Weinshall, walks outside the chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

While the House was mired in multiple rounds of voting to select a new speaker Tuesday, things moved ahead smoothly in the Senate, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was celebrating a milestone. The 80-year-old became the longest-serving Senate leader in history, with 16 years as the top Senate Republican, the Hill reports. The 80-year-old, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and became the GOP's leader in the chamber in 2007, praised earlier Senate leaders including the previous record holder, Democratic Sen. Mike Mansfield, who served as Senate majority leader from 1961 to 1977.

"This scholarly Montanan was not an exciting idealist who transformed our national discourse, nor a policy entrepreneur who brought to the leader’s role his own sweeping wish list of federal programs," McConnell said of Mansfield, per Politico. "Mansfield made a huge impact through a different road: by viewing the role of leader as serving others." He said Mansfield was a "canny strategist who knew how to rally his conference"—and "proceedings became more orderly and less theatrical" under his leadership. Seven new senators, five Republicans and two Democrats, were sworn in during Tuesday's session.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated a milestone of his own, the AP reports. He was sworn in as the longest-serving senator from New York. "Whoever ends up becoming speaker of the House, I hope they will find a way to work with us in a productive way this Congress," Schumer said. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray took her oath as president pro tempore of the Senate, replacing retired Sen. Patrick Leahy. "It’s not lost on me the significance of what it means to be the first woman to serve in this role," said Murray, who is now third in line to the presidency. "This is another sign that slowly but surely, Congress is looking more like America." The House adjourned without a speaker Tuesday and will return Wednesday, while senators aren't expected back before a Jan. 23 vote. (More Mitch McConnell stories.)

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