Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been medically cleared to renew his duties by the U.S. Capitol attending doctor after his alarming freeze-up at an occasion in Kentucky this week.
Brian Monahan, the attending doctor, mentioned he knowledgeable McConnell that he’s “medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned” after consulting with the GOP chief and his neurology staff.
“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” Monahan added in an announcement launched by McConnell’s workplace on Thursday.
At a information convention Wednesday, McConnell, 81, didn’t reply for about 30 seconds after he was requested about operating for reelection in 2026, prompting aides to hurry to his facet. It’s the second alarming episode the senator has had up to now 5 weeks. McConnell’s aides mentioned he “felt momentarily lightheaded” through the newest freeze-up.
McConnell was hospitalized for a concussion and damaged ribs after falling earlier this yr. The longtime Kentucky Republican senator is a polio survivor.
President Joe Biden mentioned he spoke with McConnell on Thursday.
“He was his old self on the telephone. … It’s not at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you’ve had a severe concussion,” Biden said whereas at a Federal Emergency Administration Company occasion in Washington.
The efforts by McConnell’s staff and his allies to tamp down hypothesis concerning the senator’s well being aren’t more likely to quell swirling questions on his future as a celebration chief. A number of GOP senators are weighing requires a caucus assembly to debate their occasion’s management as soon as the Senate returns from its August recess subsequent week, in line with Politico. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) even urged McConnell ought to step down, calling him and different older politicians “not fit for office.”
Nonetheless, one distinguished McConnell detractor isn’t pushing for his ouster this time. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who led a failed effort to oust McConnell as chief earlier this yr, mentioned he didn’t see McConnell going wherever anytime quickly.
“I expect he’ll continue to be the Republican leader through this term,” Scott told CBS News on Wednesday. “We’ll have another election after the 2024 elections.”
