McConnell Hits 6 Weeks Since Hospitalization—As Health Concerns Persist

1 hour ago 2

Topline

Six weeks after Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was abruptly hospitalized for what his office said was a fall and a mild case of pneumonia, the former top Senate Republican remains absent—fueling speculation about his health and whether or not he will attend funeral services this week for his longtime ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

It is unclear when the Kentucky senator plans to return to Congress.

Anadolu via Getty Images

Key Facts

Sunday marks two weeks since McConnell’s office released a statement and a photo of the Kentucky senator in the hospital, and his staff has released few details about his condition and plans to return to work since.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Kentucky senator told the Washington Post McConnell was still working, and has met with staff about “Senate and Kentucky business.”

McConnell’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from Forbes regarding his plans to return to work or attend funeral services.

Crucial Quote

In a statement posted on social media, McConnell said he was “shocked and saddened” by the death of Graham earlier this month. “His constituents and colleagues have counted on his straight talk, conviction, and boundless appetite for a worthy fight,” the Kentucky senator said in the statement, although he has not made a television appearance or vocal statement about his “good friend” and colleague’s death as of Sunday.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Graham, who died July 11, will have funeral services in Washington on Tuesday and in South Carolina on Wednesday.

Chief Critic

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat governing a state President Donald Trump won in the last three presidential elections, has repeatedly called on McConnell to update his constituents on his health. "I haven’t heard a thing. Not an email, not a letter, not a call, not a video ... absolutely nothing,” Beshear told SiriusXM on Monday. The airing of frustration came after Beshear said during an announcement earlier this month, “when you've been in a hospital for a month and you've missed all the votes, which is your job—I mean, basically, you're not able to show up for work, you owe your boss, like anybody else out there who works, an explanation of what's been going on.” Beshear asked McConnell to “call into a news station for five minutes, put out a short video” about his health, insisting his silence was fueling the “rampant speculation” about his condition.

Key Background

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14. Video footage later obtained by CNN showed paramedics transporting a person out of McConnell’s home in Washington, D.C., by stretcher into an ambulance that morning, although the person’s face is not visible. McConnell’s office was mostly silent on the 84-year-old senator’s status for weeks, fueling conspiracy theories and wild speculation about his health. McConnell’s office finally released a statement addressing his health on July 12, the day after Graham’s death, telling constituents he was hospitalized after a fall, but did not break any bones, get a concussion, or have a heart attack, stroke, tumor or hemorrhaging. He did say he was being treated for a “mild case of pneumonia.” McConnell’s office also released a photo of the Kentucky senator smiling beside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The photo also generated speculation it may have been made using AI, but experts largely agree it was not created with the technology.