FACT CHECK: Did Mitch McConnell Say He Would Resign If He Wasn’t Senate Majority Leader In November?

An image shared on Facebook claims Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would resign if he did not become Senate majority leader in November.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence to suggest McConnell made any such announcement. A spokesperson for the senator denied the claim.

Fact Check: 

Republicans are expected to win back control of the House of Representatives in the upcoming Nov. 8 midterm elections, according to New York Magazine. Democrats are likely to retain a slim majority in the Senate, FiveThirtyEight reports.

An image shared on Facebook shows a screenshot of a tweet claiming McConnell said he would resign if he did not become the Senate majority leader following the elections. “Mitch McConnell said he would resign if he doesn’t become the Senate Majority Leader in November, reads part of the tweet, adding that “Democrats should run this message in every state.”

Mitch McConnell said he would resign if he doesn’t become the Senate Majority Leader in November. I think Democrats should run this message in every state. Voters despise Moscow Mitch all across the country. If you want to end McConnell’s political career, vote for the Democrats!

— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) July 31, 2022

McConnell would be eligible to once again become majority leader if the Republicans won control of the Senate in the coming midterm elections.

There is, however, no evidence that McConnell said he would resign if he does not win the position. Check Your Fact reviewed McConnell’s press releases and his verified social media accounts and found no evidence of such a statement. A search of his deleted tweets on Politwoops, a website that archives the deleted tweets of politicians, also did not yield any results for such a comment.

Bill Popp, a spokesperson for McConnell, told USA Today in July that McConnell did not make such a statement. (RELATED: FACT CHECK: Does The US Government Spend Zero Dollars On Homeless Veterans?)

This is not the first time false claims of a politician resigning have circulated on social media. Check Your Fact debunked a claim in August 2020 that alleged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would resign if President Donald Trump was elected for a second term in that year’s election.

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