Mitch McConnell’s staff offered an ode to his late Republican colleague while the Kentucky senator recovered in hospital.
The 84-year-old Republican’s press office issued a statement regarding the sudden death of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday, just an hour after McConnell finally addressed speculation over his own health concerns.
“Lindsey Graham was a good friend and a great American, and I was shocked and saddened by his passing,” McConnell said in a statement shared by his team. “His constituents and colleagues have counted on his straight talk, conviction, and boundless appetite for a worthy fight.”
“The Senate will miss him, and Elaine and I are keeping his family in my prayers,” he added.
Graham, 71, died suddenly on Saturday night after returning to the U.S. from Ukraine.
Initial reports said that the South Carolina senator died from a “brief and sudden illness,” but his office released a statement from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia on Sunday evening clarifying that he died due to an “Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.”
“The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death,” the medical examiner said.
McConnell’s message about Graham came just an hour after he explained his own hospitalization, which happened nearly a month ago on June 14.
In a statement, the Kentucky senator shared that he had suffered a fall that led to a trip to the hospital, and that though he was “briefly unconscious,” it was not the result of “a stroke or a heart attack.” He added that he also “had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia” while recovering at the hospital.
“You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct—I can’t help it,” he said in the statement.
“But at the same time, I’ve had more than my share of experience with physical vulnerabilities,” the seven-term senator continued. “Surviving childhood polio meant spending my entire life with mobility challenges. They haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age.”
McConnell also shared a photo of himself in a hospital bed alongside his wife, Elaine Chao, who faced scrutiny over a trip she took to China amid her husband’s hospitalization.
In the photo, the octogenarian can be seen holding Sunday’s print edition of The Washington Post sports section, while sitting on what appears to be incontinence pads in his hospital bed. His left hand also appears to be bruised in the image.
McConnell said that he would not be able to return to work on the Senate floor “quite yet,” but that he would continue to work with his legislative staff while he recovers in the hospital.
“I’ll keep you posted on the progress of my recovery,” the senator concluded. “Until then, I’m so grateful for your prayers and well wishes.”
