WASHINGTON (WDRB) -- Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell made history Tuesday as the longest serving party leader in either party in the U.S. Senate in American history.

McConnell has been serving in Washington, D.C. since he was first elected in 1985. From 2015-21, he served as Senate majority leader, only the second Kentuckian to ever be majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Now he's Senate minority leader, but regardless, he surpassed Montana Democrat Mike Mansfield as longest-serving party leader for either party in the Senate.

"I've never taken it for granted the opportunities I've been given by the people to Kentucky and also my Republican colleagues," McConnell said Tuesday, addressing his constituents during an interview with WDRB News in his office. "I mean, it's an honor to work in the Capitol every day and to try to make progress within the country."

McConnell, 80, surpassed Mansfield's record of 16 years as party leader when the Senate convened Tuesday for the new Congress.

While the Kentucky Republican has acknowledged he would prefer his own party to be taking charge — "the majority is better," McConnell frequently says — he's celebrating his own personal milestone with a speech looking back at Senate leaders and their different styles over the decades.

"Thank you for the support," McConnell said. "Kentucky sent me back seven times. ... None of this would have been possible without them."

McConnell will make a rare appearance with Biden in his home state of Kentucky later this week to highlight nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure spending that lawmakers approved on a bipartisan basis in 2021.

To read McConnell's full remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor, click here.

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