McConnell remains hospitalized as aides provide limited health details
Senate Republican leaders said they recently spoke with Mitch McConnell, while his office repeated that he is recovering in hospital.
By Amanda Ross · Deals Correspondent
· 3 min read
Sen. Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for more than three weeks, leaving Senate Republicans facing sustained questions about the health of one of the party’s most senior figures. His office has released only limited information, saying the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican is recovering and continuing to work with staff while the Senate is out of session.
McConnell, a former longtime Senate majority leader who has said he will not seek an eighth term, was admitted to hospital on June 14, according to news outlets. At the time, a spokesman confirmed the hospitalization and said McConnell was receiving strong medical care, but did not provide further details, according to those reports.
Asked Tuesday by CNBC for an update, McConnell’s office repeated a statement it had issued the prior week. The office said the senator “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
The same statement said McConnell “continues to improve” and is working closely with aides on matters involving Kentucky and the Senate during the recess. The statement gave no diagnosis, discharge timetable or description of the event that led to his admission.
Emergency audio draws attention
Scrutiny intensified after audio of emergency services calls, first reported by journalist Desiree Townsend and later obtained by other news organizations, appeared to refer to responders performing CPR on a person in cardiac arrest at McConnell’s Washington address on the day he entered hospital. McConnell is not named in the recording.
McConnell’s office has declined to comment on the audio, according to CNBC. The absence of an official account of the medical episode has left lawmakers, commentators and political allies relying on statements from the senator’s office and accounts from people who say they have spoken with him.
The questions have been sharpened by McConnell’s recent health history. He previously experienced public health episodes that drew national attention, and he later announced he would retire from the Senate rather than seek another term.
Republican leaders say they spoke with him
Several Republican figures pushed back Tuesday against speculation about McConnell’s condition by saying they had spoken with him recently. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota spoke with McConnell by phone on Monday, a Thune spokesperson told CNBC. The spokesperson said the two discussed national security and other issues.
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate majority whip, also spoke with McConnell for about 20 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Kate Noyes told CNBC. Noyes said they discussed Senate races, the Graham Platner matter, a recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits, the Senate’s July work period, the need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act and President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence.
Noyes said McConnell was “fully engaged” and wanted to return to the Senate.
Conservative commentator Scott Jennings wrote on X that he spoke with McConnell by phone Tuesday morning for just under 20 minutes. Jennings said they discussed Iran, Ukraine, Maine, his visit to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Senate history. Jennings added that McConnell was still recovering in hospital.
The accounts followed an unverified claim posted on X by Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and ally of Trump, who said she had been told by a high-level White House source that McConnell was “officially brain dead.” CNBC reported that multiple people, including Thune and Barrasso, said they had spoken with McConnell at length in recent days.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
