The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham has left South Carolina with an open Senate seat and further narrowed the already tight Republican majority in Washington, D.C. Further complicating matters is the now month-long absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Amid rampant speculation about his health, McConnell announced Sunday night that doctors have not yet cleared him to return to the Senate floor following a hospitalization four weeks ago, although he apparently does intend to return to the Senate when he is able.
His continued absence leaves Republicans with only 51 senators expected to vote when the chamber returns from recess this week. The reduced ranks will create an immediate challenge for key parts of President Trump’s agenda, including the nomination of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanently lead the Department of Justice.
McConnell Hospitalized
Questions about the former Senate majority leader’s health have been swirling for weeks now after he was admitted to the hospital on the morning of June 14. At the time, his spokesman announced only that the 84 year old was receiving excellent care.
An emergency dispatch recording suggested the episode may have been far more serious, however, referencing an Advanced Life Support ambulance being sent to McConnell’s Washington, D.C., home shortly before 9am. First responders were apparently told CPR was in progress for a patient who was unconscious and possibly suffering cardiac arrest. McConnell’s office has not confirmed those details or publicly disclosed a diagnosis.
Two days after the hospitalization, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said during an interview on Fox News that he had spoken to his predecessor. “I spoke to him yesterday and he was in good spirits. I mean, he was very dialed in, paying attention to what’s going on, and indicated that he would be back soon,” Thune recounted.
That interview occurred nearly a month ago. In the interim, McConnell’s staff issued just one additional update on July 2 confirming that he remained hospitalized and was continuing his recovery.
Last Wednesday, Democrat Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear publicly called on the senator to provide a full update on his health. In an apparent effort to combat speculation, several prominent Republicans began offering fresh assurances late last week that they had personally spoken with McConnell and found him alert and engaged.
‘Proof of Life’ Photo
In the wake of Graham’s passing, the McConnell team was seemingly finally compelled to provide what many are calling a “proof of life” photo and statement.
The picture, released Sunday, shows the senator sitting up with pillows behind him and a copy of Sunday’s Washington Post beneath his right hand. His wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, is seated to his left. Both appeared smiling, though McConnell did not seem to be looking directly at the camera.
A written “note to constituents regarding his hospitalization and recovery” that was published on his campaign website detailed “a fall” – blamed on “mobility challenges” related to his childhood polio diagnosis – that landed him in the hospital.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” the statement read. “But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.”
McConnell was “able to move from hospital care to a rehabilitation center where I’ll keep regaining my strength.” There remains no date for his return, but the statement makes clear that the octogenarian has no plans to step down.
“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet,” the statement continued. “You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work. But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.”
Ongoing Concerns
The seven-term incumbent has had several health problems in recent years, including falls that led to a concussion and fractured rib, two highly publicized episodes in which he froze while speaking, and another hospitalization for flu-like symptoms earlier this year. He has also recently used a wheelchair while traveling through the Capitol.
McConnell had already announced he would retire when his current term ends in January but needing to vacate the seat prior to then would have political ramifications, which is what has thrust this story into the spotlight even before Graham’s death.
As per a Kentucky law passed in 2024, the governor no longer has the power to appoint an interim senator and must instead call a special election to replace the outgoing member. That means Beshear would have 30 days to call an election, and candidates would then have 49 days to consider running. In the meantime, the seat would remain vacant.
That timetable gets complicated, however, on or after August 3 because a special election would run into the already planned November general election. Seeing as it would be the first time this relatively new law is tested, experts believe the courts would need to weigh in on how to proceed.
Political Fallout
McConnell’s prolonged hospital stay and limited public information fueled increasingly wild rumors online about his condition, including reports that he was deceased, brain dead, and/or somehow trying to stymie the Trump administration with his absence. The photo and statement have not exactly quieted the claims, instead sparking a new set of concerns about their authenticity.
“I mean, it is a true ‘proof of life’-type photo. He looks a little propped up. His facial expression looks odd. He is not looking into the camera. He is kind of looking up. It is a little off, and I respect and like Mitch McConnell,” Megyn said on Monday’s Megyn Kelly Show. “I am trying to be respectful of him, but this has a lot of tongues wagging about whether this is real, whether we can trust this photo.”
“And now the team is saying it was not a heart attack… Mitch McConnell is allegedly saying that himself. So why was he getting CPR? It’s just a lot,” she added. “And by the way, Sen. Graham’s team said he died after a ‘brief illness’… Why’d they say that? I thought that the autopsy says aortic dissection. That means your heart split and you dropped dead. That is not a short illness. Why wouldn’t they have just said a cardiac event? I don’t know what’s going on, but this is exactly how conspiracy theories get started.”
Her guest, Michael Knowles, agreed. “In the case of Sen. McConnell, this is some late-stage Soviet Union stuff where you are propping up the leaders who seem to be croaking every six months. I don’t know that I buy the excuses,” he admitted.
“I mean, right after he was brought to the hospital, you had all of these people in government and media [come out and say] almost the exact same thing… ‘Oh, I’ve just spoken with Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes. We discussed Iran and the economy. We solved Fermat’s last theorem. We were discussing quantum entanglement. He had some really interesting insights,'” Knowles quipped. “You think like, ‘Nobody is believing this. What are you talking about?'”
Given what we know about McConnell from his decades-long career as a Washington powerbroker, Knowles doesn’t expect any more clarity until that looming August 3 deadline.
“In a very Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham kind of operative twist, you’ve got this issue where if Mitch McConnell were to have suffered a very serious medical event, such that he would have to leave the Senate, if he did so before August 3 in Kentucky, that would trigger a special election, and the special election could really mess up the Republicans in the general election because… Mitch McConnell is not running for re-election,” he explained. “You’ve got the table set; everything’s good to go for the re-election; we’re going to have another Republican senator from Kentucky in January. But if McConnell were to leave office before then… now you’d have a new incumbent who might run for re-election. All of a sudden, this easy replacement becomes very very complicated.”
“So, what’s going to happen? I think people are going to be really, really cagey on Mitch McConnell until August 3,” Knowles posited. “People will be accused of being cynical and overly political by encouraging this kind of subterfuge and obscurity all the way through August 3, and I think this is classic McConnell. This is all ‘Cocaine Mitch,’ who says that the winners make laws and the losers go home. I am fairly confident that he, more than anybody, would love to at least keep things going through August 3, such that the legacy of his seat is secure. But any reporting that I am getting until then, I am taking it with a very, very hefty grain of salt.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Knowles by tuning in to episode 1,358 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.