--- description: Find out why Mitch McConnell is one of the 100 most influential people of 2023. title: Mitch McConnell: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b8a165f1fbb7c8/698a3bca16d8847016c3bb65/Mitch-McConnell-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 13, 2023 # Mitch McConnell by Bill Frist  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, during a news conference following the weekly Republican caucus luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023\. Congress must raise the US federal debt ceiling by the summer or early fall in order to avoid the risk of a federal payment default, according to the widely followed Bipartisan Policy Center model. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, during a news conference following the weekly Republican caucus luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023\. Congress must raise the US federal debt ceiling by the summer or early fall in order to avoid the risk of a federal payment default, according to the widely followed Bipartisan Policy Center model. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAl Drago—Bloomberg/Getty Images [Mitch McConnell](https://time.com/collection-post/5567755/mitch-mcconnell/ "undefined") this year became the longest-serving Senate leader of either party in history—and for a reason. He leads exceptionally, every two years overwhelmingly affirmed by his colleagues. My perspective is colored by the four years he served as whip when I was leader. Every day I saw his style: leadership with clarity, uncanny command of persuasion, and unwavering conviction, anchored in Republican principles. His [mastery of Senate rules](https://time.com/5932616/why-mitch-mcconnell-is-filibustering-to-protect-the-filibuster/ "undefined") is legendary, and his transformation of the federal judiciary is widely known, but what most might not see is his willingness to negotiate and achieve a greater good by working with the “other side.” In the past year, he led bipartisan efforts to find and secure funding for the war in Ukraine, and President Biden told him the massive [bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021](https://time.com/6046002/clash-coming-joe-biden-and-mitch-mcconnell-are-preparing-for-a-spending-standoff/ "undefined") “wouldn’t have happened without your hand.” Mitch knows when and how to cut a deal. _Frist, a Republican, is a former U.S. Senate majority leader_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/"},"headline":"Mitch McConnell","datePublished":"2023-04-13T10:32:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:32.178Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","sponsorshipblock","TIME100 2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b8a165f1fbb7c8/698a3bca16d8847016c3bb65/Mitch-McConnell-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31b8a165f1fbb7c8/698a3bca16d8847016c3bb65/Mitch-McConnell-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/","name":"Mitch McConnell"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | The 100 Most Influential People of 2023","description":"See all the people on Time's 2023 Time 100 list","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/P6RIsapV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-04-13T10:30:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/P6RIsapV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269859/mitch-mcconnell-2023/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```