This substack article is a followup to my last regarding McConnell’s recent freezeup and total aphasia for almost a minute this past week while hosting a press conference.
Did McConnell receive any medical treatment or advice following his last ‘ episode ‘.
Despite this Mitch travels on.
I wish no negative comments upon Senator McConnell as he has served our nation well for many years. This should be a bipartisan opinion and Republicans as well as Democrats are guided by his leadership role. Yet onward.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t want you to focus on his health.
The 81-year-old Kentucky Republican involuntarily froze in front of reporters this week. It was the second time he struggled to speak at a public event in the past five weeks. His aides downplayed the event and the Capitol physician cleared him for work.
But he faces a long to-do list in Washington: funding the government to avoid a shutdown, handling requests for emergency funding for disaster aid and the war in Ukraine, approving a farm bill, regulating AI, renewing a long-standing surveillance program and considering a backlog of nominees.
All this while House Republicans are openly discussing impeachment proceedings for President Biden or members of his administration.
McConnell is under pressure from conservatives to reject funding levels that were set in an earlier agreement with the White House. House Republicans already passed a bill that would make major cuts to domestic spending in violation of that pact, a move that could seriously threaten a shutdown.
The GOP leader this week tried to make clear that new spending cuts won’t fly in the Senate. But his message was almost completely overshadowed by the moment when he froze.
“The speaker and the president reached an agreement, which I supported, in connection with raising the debt ceiling, to set the spending levels for next year,” McConnell said. “The House then turned around and passed spending levels that were below that level,” He said. “That’s not going to be replicated in the Senate.”
It is the second time McConnell’s specific attempts to tamp down efforts led by House conservatives has been overshadowed by his health.
Back in July, McConnell was led away from a press conference in the Capitol after freezing for an extended period of time. When he returned, he was eventually asked if he thought there was merit in impeaching Biden. He was clear.
“I said two years ago when we had not one but two impeachments that once we go down this path it incentivises the other side to do the same thing,” he said. “Impeachment ought to be rare rather than common. This is not good for the country to have repeated impeachment problems.”
The long list of demands this month will test McConnell’s ability to keep stories about his health at bay.
Mitch needs a leave of absence, perhaps a disability rating (he already receives SS retirement benefits, or whatever retirement benfits Senators already receive (Federal employee benefits)
I wish him well, I object to my taxes funding his salary. If he retires it becomes an issue for the SS and Medicare trust funds.