Mitch McConnell’s chief of staff refused to answer why the 84-year-old senator has still not released any video to answer lingering questions about his health.
Camera-shy aide Terry Carmack, who is on track to earn more than $226,000 this year, was approached by independent journalist Nicholas Ballasy in the Capitol on Thursday, after McConnell’s office revealed he had been discharged from the hospital after 53 days to continue his recovery at home.
“Are you guys going to release a video of him, though, just to kind of quell any of the speculation or any of the rumors online?” Ballasy asked Carmack. “You’ve probably read everything that’s going on, so just wondering what you’re going to do next?”
Carmack, holding a banana and a polystyrene container, ignored Ballasy’s questions and remained silent as he escaped into an elevator to enjoy his lunch.
David Popp, a senior adviser to McConnell who made more than $224,000 in 2025, also refused to answer Ballasy’s questions about the lack of video proof of the senator’s condition on Thursday.
“David, can you tell us why Senator McConnell hasn’t put out a video yet?” Ballasy asked as Popp whirled away from him and into an open elevator. “What’s going on with the situation?”
McConnell’s staff have been criticized for failing to provide any meaningful updates on the condition of the Kentucky Republican after his apparent fall and cardiac arrest on June 14.
In the aftermath of McConnell’s hospitalization, there were constant demands for his team to provide “proof of life” for the senator amid suggestions that there was an attempt to shield the full extent of the Republican’s condition from the public.
Instead, McConnell’s team repeatedly released the same statement saying the senator “appreciates the outpouring of support” while he continues treatment.
Analysis by the Daily Beast found that McConnell’s six highest-paid staffers earned a combined $173,200 pre-tax during the opening 50-day period that the senator was missing from Capitol Hill.
Eventually, a photo of McConnell alongside his wife, Elaine Chao, was released on July 12, showing him sitting upright in a hospital bed while holding that day’s copy of The Washington Post. A second, similar photo of McConnell smiling while seated in a chair alongside Chao was released on July 27.
McConnell’s office issued a statement Thursday confirming that he had been discharged after nearly two months.
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” McConnell’s aides quoted him as saying.
The same day, Ballasy recorded several people coming in and out of McConnell’s home, including Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress. None of them provided any updates on his condition.
The Daily Beast has contacted McConnell’s office for comment.
