Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has ripped into Congress for a lack of accountability over the disappearance of Mitch McConnell two months after he was rushed to hospital.
Since then, news of the senator’s health has been hard to come by, with his team releasing little to no information, and just two still photographs.
“I’ve received absolutely nothing, and that’s the same as the people of Kentucky have received,” Beshear griped when asked about McConnell in an interview with MS NOW. “Mitch McConnell won’t show up for his job, but I really wish Congress would do theirs.”
Despite being released from a rehabilitation facility eight days ago, Beshear said there has still been no audio or visual confirmation that McConnell is on the road to recovery, and no news on whether or when he will resume his Senate duties.
“This is why the Senate feels broken. These guys don’t think that they have a boss, when the people of Kentucky are their boss.
“They don’t feel like they’re accountable whatsoever, it’s Mitch McConnell not showing up to work for two months, and refusing to call into one news show, or create one video for the constituents that he’s supposed to serve,” Beshear said.
Beshear laid the blame on the Republican leadership, singling out Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
“John Thune saying it’s not his job to determine if Mitch McConnell even has the capacity to continue—that that’s somehow only between the people of Kentucky and him,” Beshear mused, trailing off in incredulity.
McConnell collapsed in his D.C. home on June 14 and was rushed to the hospital. It took his staff almost a full month to release a picture of him in his hospital bed, after dodging requests for information about the senator’s health.
In a rare email statement last month, McConnell said he was recovering from a fall, and then pneumonia.
A photograph of McConnell was released on July 12, and another on July 27. He reportedly checked out of rehabilitation on August 6.
His Republican allies have largely stayed silent on McConnell’s health and the lack of transparency around it.
Adam Hope, the communications director for the Republican Party of Kentucky, told NPR he thought McConnell had been “very forthright with the people of Kentucky.
“You know, he’s released multiple statements, photographs, things of that nature that prove that he’s still able to maintain his duties,” Hope said.
But McConnell, who retires in January, has not said if he will be fit enough to return to Congress before his term is up.
McConnell and Thune did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
