Mitch McConnell’s office is refusing to reveal the truth about his condition as rumors run wild about the Kentucky senator’s health and recovery.
McConnell, 84, was hospitalized more than three weeks ago on June 14. That same day, the public EMS dispatch call showed that emergency medical personnel went to his home to respond to an unconscious person.
During the call, a dispatcher called in a “cardiac arrest,” and the medic at McConnell’s address said there was CPR “in progress.”
While the senator’s office has claimed McConnell continues to recover and is “working closely with his staff,” they refused Monday to provide any further details or to address specific questions about the senator beyond the vague statement.
McConnell’s staff is led by his longtime, camera-shy aide, Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year.
The Kentucky lawmaker’s office did not respond to any of the specific questions from the Daily Beast on Monday. Instead, communications director Stephanie Penn said the office “will be sure to keep you updated.”
She did not address whether the senator had left the hospital or had plans to this week. It did not provide information on the senator’s treatment, prognosis or timeline for his full recovery.
It comes as there has been a frenzy of conspiracy theories across the internet about the Republican Kentuckian and whether he was even conscious at this stage.
McConnell’s office would not even specifically confirm when directly asked if he was conscious and not on life support. Instead, his office passed along the same statement that a “spokesperson” had put out on July 2.
“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” it read. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
The Daily Beast has asked directly who on his staff has been working most closely with him and whether that has been by phone, email, or in person, and has requested to speak with them directly.
The Senate is out of session for another week as part of its 4th of July recess.
After McConnell was hospitalized, Majority Leader John Thune said on June 15 that he hoped his predecessor would return from the hospital that week.
At first, Thune told reporters he had not spoken to the senator, but later he said the two had spoken, and McConnell “sounded good” and “wants to be back,” according to Politico. That was three weeks ago.
The Daily Beast on Monday asked the majority leader’s office whether Thune had spoken with McConnell since he indicated they had spoken in mid-June, and whether he stood by his previous assessment that the Kentucky senator was looking forward to returning to work, but did not immediately hear back.
McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was spotted in China just three days after his hospitalization.
A photo shared by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China showed her sitting across from Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. The embassy said it was taken on June 17 in Beijing, where the pair discussed ways to strengthen U.S.-China relations.
McConnell has faced a series of health challenges in recent years, and the hospitalization this summer is not his first time in a hospital this year. In February, the senator checked himself into a hospital and spent more than a week there while being treated for “flu-like symptoms.”
He has been taken through the U.S. Capitol in a wheelchair by staff on multiple occasions in recent years after a series of falls. In 2023, he froze on camera mid-speech at his weekly press conference, prompting his fellow Republican senators to step in and lead him away.
