Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) won’t become the chamber’s majority leader if his party wins big in November because he plans on stepping down from his leadership role, reports said on Wednesday.

McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in the chamber’s history and who turned 82 last week, is set to announce his decision in the well of the chamber on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”

McConnell said he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.”

“As I have been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate, I always imagined a moment when I had total clarity and peace about the sunset of my work,” McConnell said in his prepared remarks, according to the AP. “A moment when I am certain I have helped preserve the ideals I so strongly believe. It arrived today.”

McConnell provided no precise rationale for the timing of his decision, which he had been considering for months. However, he mentioned the recent passing of his wife’s youngest sister as a moment that spurred reflection.

“The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” McConnell said.

In his statement, McConnell also touted America’s leadership role in the world and indicated he believes it should continue.

“Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them,” McConnell said. “That said, I believe more strongly than ever that America’s global leadership is essential to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. For as long as I am drawing breath on this earth I will defend American exceptionalism.”