Mitch McConnell’s Health Leaves Republicans Facing Bleak Future

The Republican party is facing a fresh crisis over one of its most dogged fighters in the Senate amid concerns about the health of Mitch McConnell.

The veteran Kentucky senator, the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, faces calls to resign after the 81-year-old appeared to freeze and stare off into the distance for several seconds during a press conference with GOP leadership at the Capitol on Wednesday.

The incident involving McConnell has reignited the debate about the cognitive abilities of certain elected officials, such as California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who suffered an inflammation of the brain known as encephalitis during a lengthy absence due to shingles, and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who had a stroke in 2022.

McConnell, reported to have had a fall at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier in July, was led away by fellow Republicans present at the press conference on Wednesday before returning several minutes later and saying he was fine. Newsweek has contacted McConnell’s office by email for comment.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on July 26, 2023, in Washington, D.C. McConnell froze and stopped talking at the microphone and was escorted back to his office. He later returned to the news conference and answered questions. Getty Images/Drew Angerer

While McConnell has faced criticism, including from former president Donald Trump and his MAGA loyalists in Congress, his departure from office could potentially leave a major hole within the GOP.

McConnell, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984, has often been a thorn in the side of the Democrats, known to frustrate the rival party with his tactics of holding the passing of bills in the Senate hostage and threatening to kill off others unless the Democrats play ball.

Arguably one of McConnell’s most influential stances in recent years was his refusal to allow President Barack Obama to appoint a new Supreme Court Justice following the death of Antonin Scalia as the 2016 Presidential Election was several months away.

McConnell later faced allegations of hypocrisy when he allowed Trump, who won the 2016 election, to nominate conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to the SCOTUS bench following the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and rushed through her confirmation a matter of weeks before the 2020 election.

Trump had already appointed two right-wing judges to the SCOTUS bench during his time as president. In June 2022, the conservative majority of the court voted to overturn Roe. V Wade.

Speaking in May 2022, just prior to the landmark decision which has allowed states to severely restrict abortion access, McConnell said his “biggest decision” as leading the Republican Senator was stopping Obama from nominating his Supreme Court pick, Attorney General Merrick Garland, to the bench in 2016.

In the wake of Wednesday’s episode, several GOP Senators rallied around McConnell and insisted he is still able to do his job despite concerns over his condition.

“I understand he was a little lightheaded, but returned to answer questions. So I have no reason to believe he’s not doing well,” Texas Senator John Cornyn, seen as a replacement for McConnell for the GOP Senate leader role, told Politico. “I’m not going to head down that road. I’ll support Senator McConnell as long as he wants to continue to serve.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has often clashed with the Senate minority leader, added: “My prayers are with him. That obviously was concerning. I hope it was just a momentary issue and that he’s doing better. Mitch is strong as hell and stubborn as a mule.

“I have every hope that he will fight back from any health issues and fully recover.”