U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell reflected on his record-breaking time as Senate GOP Leader, the situation in Gaza, what became “far and away the most important” decision he’s made and more in a radio interview Wednesday with Republican commentator Scott Jennings.

Jennings, a star pundit and favorite of President Donald Trump’s on CNN, has long been tied to McConnell’s network in Kentucky, where he’s from.

McConnell told Jennings that the most important decision he made by far in his 40-plus years in the Senate and 18 years as Senate GOP leader was denying President Barack Obama an appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. McConnell never granted Senate consideration for Obama’s pick, paving the way for the nomination of the conservative-leaning Justice Neil Gorsuch after Trump’s win, which swung the balance of the court.

“You have to go back to the 1880s to find the last time the president made a nomination that was confirmed by a party different from his controlling the Senate. So obviously, if you have the power, you’re going to use it,” McConnell said. “I think people on the right are pretty comfortable with the outcome.”

The 83-year-old Senator also made some comments on the future, particularly the year 2026 when several U.S. Senate elections will be held. McConnell led the caucus as it retook the majority, capturing 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, in 2024.

“Getting the majority back was a great way to end by term. We need to keep it, and even though the pundits seem to think it’s going to be easy, I suspect it won’t be,” McConnell said.

He mentioned the U.S. Senate campaign of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a popular Democrat, as a difficult race for Republicans. He said Cooper is “probably the favorite” there now.

The year 2026 will also be when McConnell’s own successor is chosen, as he has opted not to run for reelection. McConnell didn’t have anything to say about the primary for the GOP nomination to his own seat, but he did raise the specter of another popular Democratic governor in Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Beshear and his team have denied the possibility of the 47-year-old running for U.S. Senate — all signs as of now point to a presidential race in 2028 — but McConnell warned it might happen if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, gets his way.

“Schumer is a determined guy trying to find people to compete, which brings me to Kentucky. If the current Democratic governor were to decide to run for the Senate, all of a sudden, you’d have a real ‘knock down, drag out’ here in a very red state. So I think we’ll keep it, but there are always unanticipated developments during the course,” McConnell said.

McConnell on Israel, Gaza and Ukraine

On current affairs, McConnell was unabashed in his support for the controversial Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which cut Medicaid spending and preserved tax cuts, among other things. He added that he thinks it will be a political benefit to Republicans, contrary to what Democrats think.

The pair also spoke of foreign affairs, something that’s been top of mind for McConnell for several years. Seen as a defense hawk, McConnell has defended U.S. involvement in foreign affairs, particularly in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in 2022.

McConnell offered his usual defense of American spending in support of Ukraine and its own defense priorities, as well as some well wishes for the Trump administration’s attempts at peace negotiations.

He offered a complicated view on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,200 dead, Israel has waged a military campaign in Gaza that’s left around 62,000 dead, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Israel has also been criticized for blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza.

McConnell said the campaign, which has destroyed much of Hamas’ leadership but left many civilians dead, has been “mixed.”

“The Gaza experience has been very mixed, and my view is, if they’re an ally, you can help them, but don’t tell them how to conduct a war. That’s tougher to do in Israel because of the awful situation with the Palestinians, but I would stick with our allies,” McConnell said.

The Senator, who chairs the defense spending subcommittee in the Senate, also raised the prospect of an occupation of Gaza that doesn’t involve Hamas and isn’t carried out by Israeli troops. He pointed out that, in his opinion, simply holding an election is not a cure-all, as Hamas initially gained power some 15 years ago via an election.

“In some parts of the world, a democratic election is not necessarily the best result. I think, at the end, there’s going to have to be foreign troops in Gaza other than Israeli troops, to basically assure that we don’t go right back to where we were,” McConnell said.

He added: “the same thing could be said of Ukraine,” and some Europeans would be content with providing an ongoing presence there to ensure that Russia wouldn’t invade “all over again.”

Jennings ended his interview with the senator with a personal question: What will life look like after the Senate?

McConnell joked that he anticipated finding something to do because “my wife doesn’t want me home for lunch.”

“You know, I’ve spent half my life in the Senate. I was 42 when I got there, I’ll be 84 when I leave,” he said. “I’m certainly not going to be a lobbyist, and I wouldn’t go to me for a simple will — even though I have a law degree, I don’t know anything about being a lawyer. So, hopefully somebody will want me to do something, and it is going to be quite a change.”

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