Mitch McConnell Issues Bizarre Statement After Vanishing for Weeks
The 84-year-old is back, at least on X.
Getty Images
Mitch McConnell has appeared with a new statement despite not being seen in public for weeks.
On Election Day, the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican posted a short, 88-word message congratulating Trump-backed Republican congressman Andy Barr, who will replace him in the Senate. Barr defeated Democrat Charles Booker by 55 percent to Booker’s 42.9 percent, according to the Associated Press.
“Congratulations to U.S. Senator-elect Andy Barr!” the post began, then praised Barr’s “dedication to Kentucky.” McConnell called voters’ confidence in Barr “well deserved.”
Senator Mitch McConnell congratulates Senator-elect Andy Barr on X on election night.
X / @SenMcConnell
He signed off with a brief nod to his retirement, which he announced on his birthday in February 2025, when he told the Senate he would not seek re-election in 2026. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.
“I’m deeply grateful to Kentuckians for the privilege of serving them in the Senate, and I look forward to working with Andy to ensure a seamless transition so Kentucky can continue punching above its weight,” he wrote on X.
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McConnell’s final months in office have been filled with absences. Hospitalized on June 14, he vanished from public view for 92 days, blaming a fall followed by pneumonia.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
During his disappearing act, he missed 60 votes while still collecting $43,500 of his $174,000 Senate salary.
In his second week back at work, the wheelchair-bound senator was rolled out of his Washington, D.C., home and into a waiting vehicle ahead of a roll call vote.
When quizzed by independent journalist Desiree Townsend outside his house, he failed to respond, opting to wave and flash the “peace” sign.
McConnell returns to his home after a Senate floor vote earlier this month, following more than three months out of the public eye.
Daniel Heuer/REUTERS
A week before, McConnell had sat frozen during a Senate Agriculture Committee vote on the Farm Bill. During the committee, his name was called. He croaked out a delayed “aye” after his chief of staff, Terry Carmack, told him what to say. His hoarse ‘aye’ proved decisive, with the bill passing by just one vote.
Carmack has been a constant presence at his boss’s side, and he is set to make $226,000 this year.
Carmack took his loyalty to new heights in September while standing in for McConnell at a Russell Senate Office Building reception for the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, replacing the senator who had been billed as the “featured guest;” he was a no-show.
After the brief public reappearance, he was last seen being wheeled around Washington, D.C., in September.
It is unclear whether McConnell wrote Tuesday’s post himself. The Daily Beast has contacted McConnell’s office for comment.
Similar questions swirled in September, when his signature appeared on a letter from GOP Senators attaching Trump’s Taiwan policy. It was unclear whether his aides used an Autopen to sign the letter.
The letter signed by McConnell and occasional rebel Senators Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn.
Office of Mitch McConnell
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