Beshear asks McConnell to have the senator get his health checked and stay in the hospital
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday asked the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., to provide an update on the senator’s health, increasing public pressure for more information as the 84-year-old remains hospitalized for more than three weeks after being admitted.
“Over the past several weeks, Kentuckians have become increasingly concerned about the health and well-being of Sen. McConnell,” Beshear, a Democrat, said in a statement. “As Governor – and a public official who understands the commitment we have made to the people we serve – I am asking the Senator to provide an update on his current health status.”
Beshear said continuing to speculate “is not fair to the senator or to Kentuckians,” adding that he hoped McConnell would share the information “in a transparent, direct manner from the source.”
McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
If McConnell, considered a legal expert, were to resign, die or be impeached before then, Kentucky’s vacancy process would begin.
Kentucky Republicans rewrote the US Senate’s state constitution in 2024, stripping the governor of the power to appoint a temporary senator and requiring a special election instead. The winner of that special election will serve the remaining unexpired term.
But the new law has never been implemented and could face a court challenge. The uncertainty, legal experts say, centers on whether the legislature can fully remove the governor’s appointment role, given the language in the Kentucky Constitution that addresses vacancies in state offices and the 17th provision of the US Constitution to fill seats in the US Senate.
Republicans hold a slim, 53 to 47, majority in the Senate and the absence of a voting member, or the remote possibility that a Democrat fills the position temporarily, could shift power in Washington.
McConnell, the longtime Senate majority leader, declined to seek an eighth term following a series of health problems.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, according to his office, which released few details about his condition or the circumstances surrounding his hospitalization.
Asked by CNBC on Tuesday about the latest update, McConnell’s office pointed to a brief statement it issued last week that said the senator “appreciates the support he is receiving as he continues his recovery at the hospital.”
“The senator continues to improve, and works closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate issues while the Senate is still in session,” the statement said.
Limited public information has fueled growing questions about McConnell’s health and ability to serve.
The emergency services audio, first reported by reporter Desiree Townsend and later obtained by other news outlets, showed responders performing CPR on a person suffering from cardiac arrest at McConnell’s Washington address the day he was hospitalized. McConnell’s name was not mentioned on the audio, and his office declined to comment on the recording.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., told CNBC on Tuesday that Thune spoke with McConnell on Monday and discussed national security and other topics. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the chief whip, spoke with McConnell for about 20 minutes Tuesday, according to his office.
“They covered the latest news about Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court decision on federal spending limits,” spokeswoman Kate Noyes told CNBC in a statement Tuesday. “They also discussed the Senate’s July agenda, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence.”
McConnell was “fully engaged and determined to return to the Senate,” Noyes said.
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