Mitch McConnell confidante Scott Jennings fielded questions Tuesday about why the ailing senator—whom he declined to call on air—hasn’t shown a “proof of life” video.
Jennings, 48, had written on X earlier Tuesday amid increased speculation about the Kentucky lawmaker’s health—and the scant details his office has provided—that he had talked with McConnell for about twenty minutes.
“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,” Jennings, who worked on several of McConnell’s campaigns, wrote. “He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history.”
Yet questions persist in the wake of McConnell, 84, being hospitalized on June 14 after suffering an apparent heart attack that required CPR to be administered to him at his Washington, D.C. home, according to EMS dispatch audio obtained by independent journalist Desiree Townsend.
Appearing on CNN’s The Arena, Jennings reiterated his earlier post and said 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.
McConnell’s office has declined to answer basic questions about his health, responding to inquiries by repeating their statement that he is “working closely” with staff on Senate business while Congress is out of session.
Leading McConnell’s staff is longtime aide Terry Carmack, who is set to bring in more than $226,000 this year.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt pressed Jennings on whether McConnell still seemed fit to do his job.
“Did you come away feeling like he‘s still capable of serving the people of Kentucky as senator?” she asked.
“I came away feeling that he was staying on top of the news,” Jennings replied. “His condition—why he‘s in the hospital, or when he might come out, or—that‘s, that‘s...“
“Do you know why?” Hunt asked, “And are you just saying you‘re not at liberty to share?”
“I do not know why,” he said. “I only know, frankly, what has been reported or what his office has said. So this was it was a personal, private call. But I didn‘t I didn‘t probe him too deeply for his medical records.”
“Would you encourage him or anyone in his position to be more transparent with his voters about his health than he‘s been so far?” Hunt followed up.
“Uh, good question. I think that‘s a fair—I think that‘s a fair thing to say,“ he acknowledged. ”But on the other hand... my impression of men of that age is that they‘re a little private when it comes to their health. Now, he‘s in public office, and that carries a different responsibility. But it‘s a fair question."
Later in the segment, Hunt asked Jennings if he could call McConnell on air, but Jennings did not respond directly.
Adding to the uncertainty about McConnell is that his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng three days after his hospitalization. Chao, 73, spoke publicly about her husband’s health for the first time on Tuesday, telling the Daily Beast in a statement that McConnell’s condition “did not warrant an immediate return” of her from China.
Meanwhile, McConnell’s social media accounts have been dormant for weeks. The senator announced last February that he would retire at the end of his term, which expires in January.
