Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., has announced he will seek another term as the GOP’s top leader as the party looks to claim back the House and Senate in the midterm elections.

“I’m going to be running again for leader later this year,” McConnell told reporters.

McConnell, who turns 80 in February, was elected to the Senate for the seventh time in 2020 and has no plans to step away from his leadership position anytime soon. McConnell has recently taken heat from former President Trump for voting for President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

“We have a lot of infrastructure needs, both in rural areas and with big bridges. It’s a godsend for Kentucky,” McConnell said, noting both parties have struggled to pass an infrastructure bill, and that the legislation does not raise taxes, adding that he is “proud” of his vote.

McConnell has also threatened to retaliate if Democrats decide to amend the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation with a simple majority vote. McConnell says if Democrats change the rules of the Senate he will use the rule changes to prevent vaccine mandates, stop fracking bans, and prohibit “sanctuary cities” from receiving federal funds.

“Since Sen. Schumer is hellbent on trying to break the Senate, Republicans will show how this reckless action would have immediate consequences,” McConnell told the Wall Street Journal.

"We will make their voices heard in this chamber in ways that are more inconvenient for the majority and this White House than what anybody has seen in living memory," McConnell told The Hill. The Kentucky senator warned that Republicans would be willing to block routine agreements making it more difficult for Democrats to accomplish day-to-day tasks like setting the schedule or allowing committee meetings.

"Do my colleagues understand how many times per day the Senate needs and get unanimous consent for basic housekeeping? Do they understand how many things would require roll-call votes, how often the minority could demand lengthy debate? Our colleagues who are itching for a procedural nuclear winter have not even begun to contemplate how it would look," McConnell said.

GOP leaders do not know of any lawmakers who plan to challenge McConnell for his position.

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