Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has shared his frustration with the secrecy surrounding Mitch McConnell following over a month of hospitalization.
“I don’t know anything about McConnell’s health. I know zero. I’m totally in the dark, and I certainly wish him well, and his family,” he told Fox News.
The attorney then added: “I do think that at a certain point you have an obligation to your constituents and country to tell them what’s going on.
“So I can’t do that for him because I have zero idea, never have had any idea about any of this health stuff.”
Hawley concluded: “But I hope that—I hope he recovers but I also hope that they get the transparency out there and tell people what the situation is.”
McConnell, 84, was taken to hospital on June 14 after being found unconscious at home.
Kentucky’s longest-ever serving senator has not been seen in public since, with his office repeatedly sharing the statement: “Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.
“The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
After weeks of conspiracies surrounding his health status, McConnell’s office last week shared a photo of the senator and his wife Elaine Chao smiling in a hospital with that day’s newspaper.
A statement was also shared on McConnell’s behalf, in which he suggested that concerns for his health have been over-exaggerated, and that he was simply taken to hospital after a fall.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumours or haemorrhages,” the statement clarified.
Justifying his weeks-long silence—during which some Republicans worried that their colleague was dead—McConnell reasoned: “Folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older.”
While McConnell’s update was positive, Donald Trump didn’t seem convinced when asked about the smiling photo by Greg Kelly on Newsmax.
“Well, I don’t hear much. I was, uh, never a huge fan,” the president said when questioned about the senator’s “outlook.”
Briefly touching on some disagreements with McConnell, Trump then cryptically concluded: “I hope he’s going to be fine. I—I don’t know if he’s fine, but I certainly hope he’s going to be fine."
