Mitch McConnell was mysteriously absent from an event where he was set to be honored as a featured guest.
The senior Kentucky senator, 84, was scheduled to attend a congressional reception on Wednesday for the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, one of Kentucky’s largest business advocacy groups, where he was to be honored as a “featured guest,” according to a schedule of events the Daily Beast obtained.
But McConnell, now in his second week back at work after a 92-day absence, was a no-show. A source tells the Daily Beast that McConnell’s chief of staff, Terry Carmack, who is set to make $226,000 this year, attended in the senator’s place.
McConnell’s office did not respond to a Daily Beast inquiry about his absence.
A source told the Daily Beast that a man often seen pushing McConnell’s wheelchair, whom they identified as Will Clark, also attended the Wednesday evening event, despite there being no sign of McConnell. A McConnell spokesperson did not answer when asked to confirm who attended.
For 20 years, the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce has held an annual “fly-in” to Washington, D.C., with about 90 Kentucky officials and business leaders in attendance this year, the largest delegation ever, according to local reports. McConnell has deep ties to the organization and reportedly secured $41 million in federal funds this year for a new administration building at the Department of Energy’s Paducah site.
The Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, a Kentucky-based contractor for the Department of Energy, sponsored the Wednesday evening reception that McConnell skipped.
At least one senator was available to meet with the delegation. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 63, appeared to meet with the group on Wednesday morning—though, unlike McConnell, he was not listed as a “special guest.”
Questions have persisted since McConnell’s hospitalization on June 14 and his months-long disappearance from public view, during which he missed 60 Senate votes.
When the Senate reconvened last week after a five-week recess, the wheelchair-bound senator reappeared without warning. However, he sparked even more concerns when he appeared to be coached by his chief staffer, Carmack, during a Senate Agriculture Committee meeting last week. McConnell appeared frozen during a vote on the Farm Bill, ignoring his name when it was called. Only when Carmack instructed him to vote “aye” did he finally oblige, albeit hoarsely.
And, on Tuesday, the senator again appeared lethargic as he was loaded into a vehicle to be transported to Capitol Hill while Carmack held an umbrella over his boss.
Video footage shows McConnell ignoring reporters’ questions, slowly turning his head and raising his right hand in a “peace” sign. He made the same gesture several times last week in response to questions.
