CNN host Abby Phillip has revealed the critical issue raised by Sen. Mitch McConnell’s mysterious health crisis.
The 84-year-old Kentucky senator has been hospitalized for three weeks since suffering an apparent heart attack at his D.C. home on June 14. In the audio of the 911 call, first responders were told of “CPR in progress” due to “cardiac arrest.”
McConnell’s team, led by his longtime, camera-shy aide Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year, has refused to provide any meaningful update on his condition since he was hospitalized.
The secrecy has fueled suggestions that there is an attempt to shield the full extent of the Republican’s condition from the public, and has raised serious questions about his capacity to return to office.
Speaking on Tuesday on CNN’s NewsNight, Phillip addressed a viewer’s question about whether there are congressional rules regarding a lawmaker’s health and ability to carry out their job.
“I guess what all of this has shown us is no, no there aren‘t actually,” Phillip said. “Unfortunately, you can do whatever you want.”
McConnell’s public health episodes have included freezing up in front of reporters on multiple occasions and tripping and falling at a Washington hotel, leading him to be treated for a concussion. Those incidents saw a Republican colleague previously state that it “should certainly be a House rule” for elected officials to disclose their medical records.
“If you want to be the president of the United States, or a senator or House member, then there is a responsibility over and above that of just offering yourself,” former Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy said in 2023. “It has to be that you can show that you have clarity.”
On Tuesday, Phillip referenced McConnell “literally” freezing on camera, but also questioned the GOP’s plans for his future.
“Look, you know, old man time is coming for all of us, right? Let‘s not pretend that 84 years old is not an advanced age. At some point, he has to make a decision about whether he is capable of doing his job and that his constituents deserve to know that.”
The View’s Ana Navarro, who was also on the NewsNight panel, stated that McConnell’s staff “want to stay employed for the next six months.”
“I do think the key issue here is transparency,” Navarro said. “I think that if you are in public service, if you are an elected office, you owe your constituents and your voters transparency and an explanation if you are going to be missing and absent from your job, which involves taking votes, for this kind of extended period of time.”
Phillip also called out the lack of clarity from McConnell’s camp.
“Why can‘t they just say ‘He had this condition. He‘s on the mend. He‘s improving’?” she said. “Whatever it is, if it is in fact that, shouldn‘t they just be able to just say, ‘Here‘s what happened to him. He‘s improving. We‘re hoping he gets out of the hospital.’“
The host added, “That is an option that is available to them and they are not taking it. They have issued a statement that is basically a month old.”
Meanwhile, CNN’s MAGA pundit Scott Jennings claimed to have had a 17-minute phone call with McConnell earlier on Tiuesday.
Speaking on CNN’s The Arena, Jennings declined to call McConnell on air, and avoided questions about why he hasn’t shown a “proof-of-life” video.
McConnell sounded “strong,” while admitting he was “not qualified to discuss any medical issues or give you any information about that.”
“That‘s really for him or his staff to do,” Jennings said.
