According to new reporting from POLITICO this week, colleagues and allies of Kentucky Senator and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have “grown more alarmed” regarding the Republican lawmaker’s clearly rapidly declining health.
Senator McConnell’s health has become a point of concern and suspicion in recent months, as the 81-year-old Kentucky lawmaker — a survivor of childhood Polio that has left him with lifelong limited mobility issues — has experienced a series of rather serious health issues, including at least 3 episodes of moderate to severe falls this year alone, one of which left the senator with a concussion and a minor rib fracture and delayed his return to Congress until mid-April, as he went to a rehab center following his hospital stay.
Most recently, McConnell suffered a rather bizarre incident during a press briefing that many speculated was a possible stroke, when the GOP lawmaker was in the middle of a sentence during his opening remarks when his face suddenly went blank and he fell completely silent, appearing to entirely lose his train of thought. The notorious Republican senator appeared to become a bit unsteady on his feet, staring blankly out into the crowd of journalists, as those around him, including his Republican colleagues, appeared to become somewhat alarmed by the lawmaker’s sudden, concerning behavior, asking the senator if he was alright.
POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin reports, “[I]n many of my conversations, and usually not for attribution, another theme came up: how much McConnell has aged. Unlike with Biden, whose every gaffe and slip on the steps is caught on camera, McConnell’s difficulties have been largely out of view, or at least they were until late last month. In private, though, McConnell’s colleagues have grown more alarmed, with one lawmaker even talking to the leader’s staff about whether he should consider hearing implants. ‘He was sitting there as the conversation went on around him,’ said an attendee of a recent Senate Republican lunch, alluding to McConnell’s hearing loss.”
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
As for McConnell himself, the Senate Minority Leader remains defiant against reports that his health is faltering and vehement in his claims that his career in Congress is far from over, despite being heckled over it and told to retire in his own home state recently. McConnell’s health issues are coming at a particularly tricky time, as the senator attempts to fight off Donald Trump’s devout loyalist from gaining more power in US Congress.
Read POLITICO’s full report here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
