MITCH MCCONNELL U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER TUESDAY 2015-PRESENT SENATE MAJORITY LEADER 2007-2015 SENATE MINORITY LEADER 1985-PRESENT UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM KENTUCKY 1977-1985 PRESIDING JUDGE OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY 1967 J.D. FROM UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF LAW 1964 B.A. FROM UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE WIFE ELAINE CHAO (M. 1993)
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has represented the state of Kentucky since 1985, making him the state’s longest serving senator. McConnell has also served in the Senate leadership; he is currently the Senate Majority Leader, and before assuming that role, he served an eight-year term as Senate Minority Leader. McConnell got his start as an intern for U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper in his Capitol Hill office. McConnell then became a chief legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Marlow Cook and, later, the deputy assistant attorney general to President Gerald Ford. During his time in the Senate, McConnell has become known as a steadfast leader. In 2015, TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Today, McConnell serves on the Appropriations, Agriculture, and Rules Committees. He is also the founder of the James Madison Center for Free Speech, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law center that works to defend political speech. McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, who served for eight years as President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Labor, and is the father of three daughters: Porter, Elly, and Claire. Link to official bio