LOUISVILLE — Sen. Mitch McConnell delivered Kentucky a record $2.6 billion in federal appropriations this fiscal year, capping his long tenure as a master of the budget process. Nearly all federal spending bills became law earlier this month, giving the state clear visibility into Washington’s largesse.

McConnell’s office called it a banner year. The funding dwarfs previous highs, with major shares going to defense and environmental cleanups. The Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond received almost $1 billion to repurpose the site for manufacturing energetics, explosives and propellants for military munitions. The Department of Energy’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant got more than $381 million for environmental remediation.

Lexington scored $35 million for a second health research building at the University of Kentucky. Blue Grass Airport landed $5.4 million for a new air traffic control tower.

The Louisville area, McConnell’s home base, reaped big rewards. More than $305 million in defense spending flowed there, including $130 million for submarine shipbuilding and over $140 million for ship-based missile defense systems. The University of Louisville’s Center for Bioscience received its largest-ever earmark of $70 million. Downtown revitalization at the Belvedere project got $7 million.

McConnell’s approach contrasts sharply with Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky’s junior senator. Paul skipped the Community Projects Funding process, once known as earmarking. Unlike every other Kentucky member of Congress, he requested no such funds. A spokesperson for Paul’s office did not respond to inquiries.

In a statement, McConnell defended his strategy. Kentucky, as a small state, must “punch above its weight,” he wrote. Without his efforts, the dollars would go to bigger states or federal bureaucrats. “Declining to secure federal dollars for Kentucky saves no money in the overall federal budget,” he added. “It’s just that Kentucky would be left out.”

The $2.6 billion includes nearly $484 million in Community Projects Funding, the second-highest total in the Senate this year, according to Roll Call. Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky’s 5th District ranked sixth in the House.

This round serves as McConnell’s swan song. He is not seeking reelection. Leading Republican candidates — Rep. Andy Barr, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and tech entrepreneur Nate Morris — have distanced themselves, despite past work for him. Morris has attacked McConnell’s influence, citing a poll where 71% of GOP voters viewed him unfavorably.

Local leaders praise McConnell. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the state won’t grasp McConnell’s impact for years. He credited McConnell with easing costs on the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge companion project, linking Kentucky and Ohio near Cincinnati. Without federal help via the 2021 infrastructure law under President Joe Biden, state taxpayers would bear more burden.

In Madison County, Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor hailed the Blue Grass Depot funding. The $963 million investment endorses the site’s workforce and potential as an energetics hub amid chemical weapons decommissioning layoffs, Taylor stated.

McConnell’s office issued press releases on Feb. 17 quoting 23 local leaders and executives thanking him. His priorities this year — Kentucky investments and defense — shine through in depot funds and Louisville shipbuilding dollars.

McConnell recently wrote in POLITICO on bolstering NATO alliances, countering skepticism from President Donald Trump’s administration. Over his career, he has funneled funds from Pikeville to Paducah. “As a long-time member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have always seen it as my duty to meet with constituent groups, understand their needs, and help deliver,” he stated.

Other Kentucky lawmakers touted their wins post-signing. Rep. Hal Rogers, the House’s longest-serving member and “Dean,” highlighted $20 million for first-responder communications equipment in southern and eastern Kentucky via the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. He also noted $28 million for the Abandoned Mine Lands program and $7.5 million for Morehead State University’s Space Science Center Payload Operations Center.

Rep. Brett Guthrie of the 2nd District projects in south-central and western Kentucky, though details from his office releases emphasized local infrastructure boosts.