Mitch McConnell’s Final Chapter: Battling GOP Isolationism, Shaping U.S. Policy, and Reflecting on His Legacy
Mitch McConnell stands in his office, smiling. The walls are adorned with portraits of Washington’s past, their faces mostly stern. Soon, McConnell’s own portrait may join them. Last month, the 82-year-old Republican leader stepped down from his historic tenure as the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history. Now, he says, he’s “ready to do something else.”
Over his 17 years as Senate leader, McConnell wielded immense power, steering the country to the right. He helped Republicans win elections nationwide, raised over $1 billion to support his colleagues, and negotiated trillion-dollar bills, including pandemic relief. Yet his influence has made him a polarizing figure—loathed by Democrats for blocking Supreme Court nominations and criticized by some Republicans for his sharp rebukes of Donald Trump. With Trump set to return to the White House next month, McConnell offers a stark warning: “We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War Two. Even the slogan is the same—‘America First.’ That was what they said in the ’30s.”
McConnell draws a historical parallel, pointing to a portrait of Robert A. Taft, a prominent Senate Republican from the wartime era. Taft, the son of President William Howard Taft, was a staunch isolationist who opposed Lend-Lease before World War II and later resisted the creation of NATO and the Marshall Plan. “Thank goodness Eisenhower beat him for the [presidential] nomination in ’52 and had a much different view of America’s role in the world,” McConnell says.
Having served as Kentucky’s senator since 1985, McConnell is determined to spend his final two years in office countering the growing isolationist sentiment within the GOP. “The cost of deterrence is considerably less than the cost of war,” he argues, citing historical data. During World War II, the U.S. spent 37% of its GDP on the war effort; last year, defense spending was just 2.7%.
McConnell’s remarks are aimed squarely at Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, both of whom have opposed further U.S. aid to Ukraine. McConnell, a staunch advocate of Ronald Reagan’s vision of American leadership, rejects the isolationist stance. “To most American voters, the simple answer is, ‘Let’s stay out of it.’ That was the argument in the ’30s, and it just won’t work,” he says. “Thanks to Reagan, we know what does work—not just saying peace through strength, but demonstrating it.”
Trump has also claimed that domestic enemies are more dangerous than foreign adversaries like Russia and China. McConnell disagrees. “I don’t agree with that,” he says bluntly.
Despite playing a key role in Trump’s first presidency, McConnell is no fan of the president-elect. He was instrumental in confirming three conservative Supreme Court justices under Trump but has been openly critical of him. In The Price of Power, a new biography by Michael Tackett, McConnell reportedly called Trump “stupid” and a “despicable human being.” After the January 6 Capitol attack, McConnell declared Trump “practically and morally responsible” for inciting the violence but chose not to vote for his conviction in the impeachment trial, reasoning that Trump was already out of office.
For the first time, McConnell admits he voted for Trump in the recent election, though he avoids saying his name. “I supported the ticket,” he says. When asked if he regrets not doing more to prevent Trump’s return to power, McConnell responds, “The election’s over, and we’re moving on.”
This pragmatic approach defines McConnell’s political style. He prioritizes Republican power above all else—what some might call “Republican First.” Yet he acknowledges the challenges ahead. “He [Trump] has an enormous audience, and he just won a national election, so there’s no question he’s the most influential Republican out there,” McConnell says, calling Trump’s comeback “remarkable.” Still, McConnell is prepared to push back against Trump’s foreign policy. “No matter who got elected president, I think it was going to require significant pushback, yeah, and I intend to be one of the pushers.”
As chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, McConnell will oversee billions in Pentagon spending. “That’s where the real money is,” he says. While uncertain about future Ukraine aid, he insists, “The goal here is for the Russians not to win.” On Ukraine and Israel, he adds, “We’ve got two democratic allies fighting for their lives. I don’t think we ought to micromanage what they think is necessary to win.”
McConnell’s resilience is undeniable. Having overcome polio as a child, he has spent decades climbing the political ladder, from Senate intern to leader. Reflecting on his legacy, he considers his role in reshaping the Supreme Court as his most significant achievement. The court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is just one example of how its conservative majority has shifted U.S. law to the right.
A prolific fundraiser, McConnell has long championed the role of money in politics. The 2024 elections cost $16 billion, up from $5.6 billion in 2000. When asked if that’s too much, McConnell replies, “No. It’s not. This is political speech. One of the really good things the Supreme Court has done is to get the government out of telling people how much they can spend advocating their points of view.”
On the day he became the longest-serving Senate leader, McConnell told his biographer, “I wasn’t sure I was good enough.” Asked why he felt that way, he says, “I thought of that all along the way. Mainly, I was filled with gratitude for the men and women who worked with me over the years, who were really smart and made me look better than I was every single day.” His advice for enduring as a leader? “Be a good listener.”
McConnell’s health has been a topic of concern after two public incidents where he appeared to freeze while speaking. Shortly after this interview, reports emerged that he had suffered a fall in the Capitol. Following Senate leadership elections that confirmed John Thune as his successor, McConnell reportedly told colleagues he felt “liberated.” He agrees with that sentiment. “In the leader job, you spend a lot of time taking arrows for everybody else and trying to help everybody succeed in ways that they choose to, and you don’t give your opinion on a number of things simply because you’re asked.”
When asked what he won’t miss, McConnell pauses. “Well, I enjoyed it and wanted very much to get the job,” he says. “I just think it’s important to know when to leave the stage.”