Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) insisted that he has “completely recovered” after two recent incidents in which he froze and went silent while talking to reporters in public.
“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered, and I’m just fine,” the 81-year-old senator said in a Sunday morning interview on CBS News after being asked whether there is anything the public should know about his health.
“I’m in good shape, completely recovered and back on the job,” he said, before adding: “I think we ought to be talking about what we were talking about earlier, rather than my health.”
Much speculation surrounding Mr. McConnell’s health was sparked by an episode in July when he abruptly stopped speaking in the middle of his opening remarks at a press conference at the Capitol, prompting concerned colleagues to come around and check up on him.
“Hey Mitch, anything else you want to say? Or should we just go back to your office? Do you want to say anything else to the press?” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) asked at the time, to which Mr. McConell didn’t answer. The pair then walked away from the podium, with Mr. Barrasso’s hands gripping Mr. McConnell’s arms.
He returned a few minutes later and answered questions about what had just happened.
“I’m fine,” Mr. McConnell responded at the time.
A month later, at a press conference in his home state of Kentucky, Mr. McConnell again froze when a reporter asked him whether he planned to run for reelection in 2026. One of his aides stepped in to repeat the question before telling reporters that he “needed a moment.”
After a silence that lasted roughly half a minute, Mr. McConnell gathered himself and finished the conference, answering two more questions from reporters, with his aide relaying the topics to him.
“Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today,” McConnell’s spokesperson said after the second freezing incident. An aide added, “While he feels fine, as a prudential measure, the leader will be consulting a physician prior to his next event.”
Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, assessed Mr. McConnell’s health and ruled out a stroke or a seizure, or that he has Parkinson’s disease, according to a letter outlining the results of an exam.
In the letter, publicized last month by Mr. McConnell’s office, the doctor said the exam included MRI imaging, an EEG study, and “consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment.”
“There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA [Transient ischemic attack, commonly known as a mini-stroke], or movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease,” Dr. Monaghan wrote in the letter, which is addressed to the senator.
“There are no changes recommended in treatment protocols as you continue recovery from your March 2023 fall,” the doctor added.
This year, Mr. McConnell became the longest-serving party leader in the history of the upper chamber. He has already broke the record for the longest-serving Republican leader in June 2018, beating out former Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.), who died in 2021 at age 98.
He also remains the third-oldest senator, only behind 82-year-old Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 90-year-old Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), after the Senate lost its oldest serving member, 90-year-old Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
