Is Mitch McConnell okay? Latest update as Caroline Sunshine accuses Scott Jennings of lying about Senator’s health
Sen. Mitch McConnell has not been publicly seen for at least 74 days, and his office has offered no fresh information about the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican’s health or whether he will return to the Senate when lawmakers reconvene next month.
The latest update came Thursday, according to HuffPost when McConnell spokesperson Stephanie Penn said there was “nothing to add” to the senator’s three-week-old statement about his recovery. The response came as questions continue to surround McConnell’s prolonged absence from public view and his plans for returning to Capitol Hill.
What did Scott Jennings say about McConnell?
The uncertainty surrounding McConnell’s condition has also spilled onto television, particularly after comments from Scott Jennings, a longtime McConnell ally and CNN political commentator.
On August 11, Jennings said during a CNN appearance that he had spoken with McConnell that day. He described the senator as recovering at home and said he expected McConnell to return to the Senate when lawmakers come back from recess on September 14.
Jennings has maintained that he has spoken with McConnell despite the senator not appearing publicly.
The claim became the subject of a heated exchange on CNN’s NewsNight this week, when former Trump White House spokesperson Caroline Sunshine challenged Jennings over his account.
Sunshine said she did not believe Jennings had spoken with McConnell, including his claim that the two had a roughly 20-minute phone conversation. Jennings rejected the accusation and called her a “garden variety conspiracy theorist,” according to The Daily Beast’s account of the exchange.
Caroline Sunshine challenges Jennings
The confrontation occurred toward the end of a discussion about the Iran war and competing claims about US intelligence on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
After Jennings questioned Sunshine about whether she believed statements from Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Sunshine turned the discussion toward McConnell.
“I don’t believe you had a phone call with Mitch McConnell,” Sunshine said, according to The Daily Beast. She also questioned Jennings’ claim that he had spoken with McConnell for 20 minutes.
Jennings pushed back and maintained that he had spoken with the senator.
The exchange did not produce any new information about McConnell’s medical condition. Instead, it highlighted the unusual situation surrounding the senator: people close to him have described his recovery, while McConnell himself has not made a recent public appearance.
So, is Mitch McConnell OK?
Based on the information officially released by McConnell’s office, the senator is recovering at home and undergoing intensive physical therapy.
His office has said that he was hospitalized following a fall and later developed mild pneumonia. McConnell was subsequently transferred to rehabilitation and discharged home on August 6.
What remains unknown is how his recovery has progressed since then.
There has been no new medical statement from McConnell’s office since August 6, no confirmed date for his return to the Senate and no recent public appearance by the senator.
The next major test will come on September 14, when the Senate is scheduled to return from recess. Whether McConnell appears at the Capitol could provide the first clear public indication of how far his recovery has progressed.
What happened to Mitch McConnell?
McConnell was hospitalized on June 14 after he was found unconscious at his home. According to HuffPost, emergency responders performed CPR as he was experiencing cardiac arrest.
McConnell spent weeks in the hospital, but his office provided little public information about what had happened or the senator’s condition.
On July 12, amid mounting questions, McConnell issued a statement saying he had been hospitalized after taking a fall and developing what he described as a “mild case of pneumonia.” He said doctors had ruled out several serious conditions, including a heart attack and stroke.
His prolonged absence nevertheless continued to draw attention, particularly because McConnell did not appear publicly to discuss his recovery.
