Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell finally addressed the growing pressure to retire over health concerns on Thursday.
No way, McConnell said. The Kentucky Republican leader promised to finish the rest of his term, despite increasing worry among lawmakers about his mental capacity.
McConnell’s latest health episodes show “no evidence” of a stroke or seizure disorder, the Capitol physician claimed Tuesday.
But his statement left huge questions unanswered about the catatonic freeze-ups that have drawn concerns about the 81-year-old’s situation.
McConnell returned to work at the Capitol after the summer recess, and his office released a letter from attending physician Brian P. Monahan concerning the long-serving Republican leader’s health. The GOP leader froze up last week during a press conference in Kentucky, unable to respond to a question in the second such episode in a month.
Take a look —
BREAKING: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to FREEZE again while taking questions. pic.twitter.com/MVZNsuq838
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 30, 2023
Asked about the episode at his Wednesday press conference, McConnell said he would finish his term in office.
“I have no announcements to make on that subject,” McConnell said about his catatonic episodes.
When asked directly if he would retire, McConnell replied, “I’m going to finish my term as leader, and I’m going to finish my Senate term.”
The episodes have fueled serious concern and intense speculation about McConnell’s ability to remain the GOP leader. He was hospitalized with a concussion earlier this year when he fell and hit his head at a dinner in Washington. It has left him visibly slower in his speech and stride, and he appeared slimmer Tuesday.
“There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA or movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease,” Monahan wrote, using the acronym for a transient ischemic attack, a brief stroke.
But there was no elaboration as to what did cause the episodes. The doctor said the assessments entailed several medical evaluations including a brain MRI scan and “consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment.”
“There are no changes recommended in treatment protocols as you continue recovery from your March 2023 fall,” the doctor said.
Many establishment Republican allies have flocked to McConnell’s side, ensuring the famously guarded leader a well of support. Rivals have muted any calls for a direct challenge to his leadership.
“When donkeys fly,” GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said when asked when McConnell would step down.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he’s supporting McConnell as leader: “We might lose from Mitch McConnell 20 seconds a day, but the other 86,380 seconds are pretty darn good.”
And yet colleagues remained confused, concerned and hungering for a fuller explanation of the leader’s health.
“If you’re asking if I’m concerned about his health, yeah, of course I am,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “I’m also concerned about the amount of questions I get about it.”
Hawley said during the month at home, he was asked repeatedly about McConnell’s health everywhere he went across Missouri “at the State Fair, from business group leaders, farmers, I mean everyone.”
McConnell will be central to the fall schedule as Congress returns from an extended summer break for a flurry of activity, most notably the need to approve funding to prevent any interruption in federal operations by Sept. 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.
Some House Republicans are willing to shut down the government at the end of the month if they are unable to enact steep spending restrictions that go beyond the agreement Biden reached with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this summer.
In leading Senate Republicans, McConnell is viewed by the White House and Democrats as a pragmatic broker who is more interested in avoiding a messy government shutdown that could be politically damaging to the GOP.
McConnell has also made it a priority to ensure Ukraine continues to receive support from the U.S. as it battles Russia.
A $40 billion funding package for Ukraine and U.S. disaster relief for communities hit by fires, floods and other problems, including the fentanyl crisis, is being proposed by the White House, but it is being met with skepticism from some Republicans reluctant to help as much as Biden wants in the Ukrainian war effort.
McConnell’s health has visibly declined since the concussion in March, after which he took some weeks to recover. His speaking has been more halting, and he has walked more slowly and carefully.
First elected in 1984, he became the longest serving Senate party leader in January. There were questions before his latest episode about whether he would run for re-election in 2026.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article