Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directly asking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the state’s most powerful figure in Congress, to disclose more about his condition after three weeks of silence from the 84-year-old since he was hospitalized in Washington.
The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”
McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders on Tuesday made public statements saying they had talked to McConnell and that he was alert and discussing current events.
McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.
Under the latest change in 2024, if the seat becomes vacant before Aug. 3, there would be a special election to pick a replacement, perhaps held concurrently with the general election in November. The special election winner could take office nearly immediately. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January.
This is hardly a punt though and I don’t believe is catering to moderates. It put a spotlight on the situation and called for action. Next step is to escalate, which should reasonably happen within a couple days of the initial statement he released. Anyone that stays home because the statement from the governor of Kentucky was harsh enough is an idiot and absolutely would shoulder some blame for not voting and losing an election. It’s not like Beshear raped kids or did something bad. It can definitely be argued his actions don’t go far enough, but only an real moron would decided to sit out the election because of this and deserves every bit of criticism coming their way.
Do you disagree with “all of this shit is a national emergency”? Mitch is covering for people who literally do rape kids; respecting his deathbed is a real bad look. We can make whatever judgements we want of non-voters, but allowing Republicans to run out the clock will create them.
I certainly hope you’re right, and Beshear escalates very hard.
I don’t disagree at all. As I mentioned, I’m all for dragging Mitch through the mud, literally if that’s an option. I just don’t yet hate Beshear’s action here. If this is the end of what he does, then yea, I’ll definitely be disappointed. If he follows up and goes harder, then I think this is perfectly fine as a start.