A 73-year-old Republican senator is coming to Mitch McConnell’s defense as many demand transparency about his health mystery.
Maine’s Susan Collins lashed out at those demanding answers about McConnell’s weeks-long absence from Congress, following a fall that sent him to the hospital on June 14.
“Mitch was the longest-serving leader in Senate history,” Collins told The New York Times. “Couldn’t we extend some grace to him? He is a survivor of childhood polio, which has made his recovery slower. But he has always been a fighter, and will be back.”
Collins also called out Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, for daring to ask McConnell to prove to his constituents that he is physically able to serve as their senator.
Beshear has repeatedly grilled Republican leadership and McConnell on his health crisis, sending scathing letters to both McConnell and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to demand answers and an investigation.
In the letter to Thune, obtained by the Daily Beast, Beshear said he was writing “under the assumption that [McConnell] is capable of reading and responding verbally, and not incapacitated by means of consciousness or cognition.”
He similarly told McConnell to “provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.”
The Democratic governor’s approach has earned him the ire of several Republicans, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, dubbing it a “campaign ploy by Beshear to look relevant.” Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, of neighboring Ohio, called Beshear “a disgraceful, attention-seeking w---e.”
Collins also singled out Beshear, accusing him of playing politics with McConnell’s health.
“This rush led by the governor, who must be running for president, is so unseemly and so unkind to a senator who has been such a leader for so many years,” she said.
Collins raised eyebrows herself when she revealed her own health struggles in a campaign announcement this year.
Questions about her health were raised after she released a video in February in which she was constantly trembling. Months later, the speculation forced her to reveal to News Center Maine that she has been treating her tremors with medication.
“What I have is an extremely common condition that is called a benign essential tremor,” Collins said. “I have had it for the entire time that I have served in the United States Senate. It has absolutely no impact on my ability to do my job or on how I feel each day.”
An analysis by The Swamp, the Daily Beast’s political newsletter, earlier found that the average age of lawmakers in the House has risen from 54.4 years between 2001 and 2003 to 57.9 years today. In the Senate, the average age rose from 59.8 years to 63.9 years in the same period.
