Mitch McConnell

==Early career (1967–1984)==
In March 1967, shortly before the expiration of his educational [[Conscription in the United States#Vietnam War|draft]] deferment upon graduation from law school, McConnell enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve|U.S. Army Reserve]] as a private at Louisville, Kentucky.<ref name="Cheves">{{cite news|last1=Cheves|first1=John|title=McConnell opens military record |url=https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article43980846.html|access-date=January 5, 2019|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=October 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105185126/https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article43980846.html|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> This was a coveted position because the Reserve units were mostly kept out of combat during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="MacGillis">{{Cite book|title=[[The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell]]|last=MacGillis|first=Alec|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2014|isbn=978-1-5011-1203-4|location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{rp|11–12}} His first day of training at [[Fort Knox]], [[Kentucky]], was July 9, 1967, two days after taking the [[Bar examination|bar exam]], and his last day was August 15, 1967.<ref name="memoir3"/><ref name="Cheves"/> Shortly after his arrival he was diagnosed with [[optic neuritis]] and deemed medically unfit for military service, and was honorably [[Military discharge|discharged]].<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="weiser">{{cite news |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/09/23/loc_military_service.html|title=Military service rare on delegation|last1=Weiser |first1=Carl|date=September 23, 2002|work=The Cincinnati Enquirer|access-date=February 3, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529190844/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/09/23/loc_military_service.html|archive-date=May 29, 2012|url-status=dead}} [https://archive.org/details/2002MilitaryServiceRareWeiser2pppdfE1 Alt URL]</ref> His brief time in service has repeatedly been put at issue by his political opponents during his electoral campaigns.<ref name="Cheves"/><ref name="weiser"/><ref>Although McConnell has allowed reporters to examine parts of his military record and take notes, he has refused to allow copies to be made or to disclose his entire record, despite calls by his opponents to do so. His time in service has also been the subject of criticism because his discharge was accelerated after his father placed a call to Senator [[John Sherman Cooper]], who then sent a wire to the commanding general at Fort Knox advising that "Mitchell [is] anxious to clear post in order to enroll in [[New York University]] (NYU)". He was allowed to leave post just five days later, though McConnell maintains that no one helped him with his enlistment into or discharge from the reserves. According to McConnell, he struggled through the exercises at basic training and was sent to a doctor for a physical examination, which revealed McConnell's optic neuritis. McConnell did not attend NYU.{{cite news|last1=Cheves|first1=John|title=McConnell opens military record |url=https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article43980846.html|access-date=January 5, 2019|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=October 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105185126/https://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article43980846.html|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

McConnell first served as a Deputy [[United States Assistant Attorney General]] under President [[Gerald Ford]] from 1974 until 1975 and went on to serve as [[Jefferson County Judge/Executive]] from 1977 until 1984 in his home state of Kentucky. McConnell was first [[1984 United States Senate election in Kentucky|elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984]] and is the second Kentuckian to serve as a party leader in the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Mitch McConnell {{!}} Republican Leader |url=https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105112217/https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/about |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |access-date=January 6, 2022 |website=Republican Leader |language=en}}</ref> During the 1998 and 2000 election cycles, he was chairman of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]]. He was elected [[Majority Whip]] to [[Bill Frist]] in the [[108th Congress]] and re-elected to the post in 2004. In November 2006 he was elected Senate minority leader, the post he held until Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015.

From 1968 to 1970, McConnell worked as chief [[legislative assistant#In the United States|legislative assistant]] to Senator [[Marlow Cook]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], managing a legislative department consisting of five members as well as assisting with speech writing and [[U.S. Congress and citizens#Congresspersons and constituents|constituent services]].<ref name="memoir4">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |page=40 |chapter=Chapter Four: You can start too late, but never too soon |title=The Long Game: a Memoir |isbn=9780399564123 |last1=McConnell |first1=Mitch |date=May 31, 2016 |publisher=Penguin |access-date=January 27, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806044152/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1971, McConnell returned to Louisville, where he worked for [[Tom Emberton]]'s candidacy for [[Governor of Kentucky]], which was unsuccessful.<ref name="memoir4"/> McConnell attempted to run for a seat in the state legislature but was disqualified because he did not meet the residency requirements for the office.<ref name="memoir4"/> He then went to work for a Louisville law firm – Segal, Isenberg, Sales and Stewart – for a few years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/rehnquist-cj/hearing.pdf |title=Nomination of Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509035045/http://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/rehnquist-cj/hearing.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="memoir4"/> During the same time period, he taught a night class on political science at the University of Louisville.<ref name="almanac"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/special-reports/article44409951.html |date=October 15, 2006 |title=Senator's pet issue: money and the power it buys |work=[[Lexington Herald-Leader]] |first=John |last=Cheves |access-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008061326/https://www.kentucky.com/news/special-reports/article44409951.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cherkis">{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/mitch-mcconnell-profile_n_3550173.html|title=Mitch McConnell's 30-Year Senate Legacy Leaves Kentucky In The Lurch|last1=Cherkis|first1=Jason|date=July 11, 2013|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105054216/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/mitch-mcconnell-profile_n_3550173.html|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live|last2=Carter|first2=Zach}}</ref>

In October 1974, McConnell returned to Washington to fill a position as [[United States Attorney General|Deputy Assistant Attorney General]] under President [[Gerald Ford]], where he worked alongside [[Robert Bork]], [[Laurence Silberman]], and [[Antonin Scalia]].<ref name="almanac"/><ref name="memoir4"/> He also served as acting [[United States Assistant Attorney General]] for the [[U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs|Office of Legislative Affairs]] under President Ford in 1975.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/24/archives/ford-picks-thornburgh-to-head-criminal-division.html | title=Ford Picks Thornburgh to Head Criminal Division | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=May 24, 1975 | access-date=June 9, 2022 | archive-date=June 9, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609231136/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/24/archives/ford-picks-thornburgh-to-head-criminal-division.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpy0AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA5 | title=Register, Department of Justice and the Courts of the United States | year=1972 | access-date=May 27, 2023 | archive-date=May 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527024945/https://books.google.com/books?id=xpy0AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA5 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1977, McConnell was elected the [[Jefferson County Judge/Executive|Jefferson County judge/executive]], the top political office in [[Jefferson County, Kentucky]], at the time, defeating incumbent Democrat Todd Hollenbach, III, 53% to 47%. He was re-elected in 1981 against Jefferson County Commissioner Jim "Pop" Malone, 51% to 47%, outspending Malone 3–1, and occupied this office until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1984.<ref name=Stretch /><ref name="memoir4"/>