Mitch McConnell is still “missing.” He has not been seen in public since he was loaded into an ambulance in mid-June. Two weekends ago, his office released a bizarre “proof of life” photo, a photo which has united Democrats and Republicans in collective disbelief. Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear recently said that people from two different federal agencies told him that McConnell is dead. Weeks ago, Beshear demanded a health update on McConnell and he still hasn’t heard back. Beshear’s relative inaction is infuriating Democrats, and I get it, but acknowledge that many Republicans seem happy to cover up whatever is really happening here. Like, there’s active obfuscation and what looks like a plot to “Weekend at Bernie’s” a sitting senator. That’s not on Beshear.
Well, here’s the latest – with his five-week absence from the Senate, McConnell is breaking Senate rules. And a lot more:
Mitch McConnell has been accused of violating one of the Senate’s own rules after disappearing from public view for 39 days while missing dozens of votes. Despite this, his office continues to provide no new information about his latest condition or expected return—even as a taxpayer-funded security detail mysteriously remains outside the hospital he was rushed to on June 14.
The prolonged absence has prompted questions about whether the 84-year-old Republican is complying with Rule VI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, which states: “No Senator shall absent himself from the service of the Senate without leave.”
Under Senate procedure, members who expect to be absent typically seek a formal leave of absence from the chamber. But it remains unclear whether McConnell has done so, fueling calls to come clean, as well as anger in parts of MAGA world.
“McConnell and his ilk will fight to keep the Senate filibuster because ”muH rULeS,” but completely ignore this rule about making sure the Senator IS ALIVE,” former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis wrote on X.
The lack of transparency has also frustrated lawmakers and fueled broader concerns about how Congress handles prolonged incapacitation by sitting members. GOP Rep. Tim Burchett said this week that McConnell’s disappearance highlighted the need for a constitutional mechanism to deal with lawmakers who are unable to perform their duties for extended periods. “I think it needs to happen yesterday,” he told independent journalist Desirée Townsend. “It’s pathetic.”
Since vanishing from public view, McConnell has missed 30 out of 30 roll call votes on everything from the War Powers Resolution on the Iran war, to judicial nominations and a housing affordability bill. But his office, led by longtime aide Terry Carmack, who earns $226,000 a year, has repeatedly declined to answer questions from the Daily Beast, including whether leave has been requested or granted.
Burchett was one of the first GOP Senators to claim a “cover-up” was taking place over McConnell, who was rushed to George Washington University Hospital last month after a 911 call suggesting he’d had a heart attack, was unconscious, and had received CPR…. It is also not clear if he was transferred to rehabilitation outside of GWU Hospital, or simply into the rehabilitation unit within the facility itself.
Adding to the mystery are the security vehicles that the Daily Beast has observed for days outside the hospital, parked in the same spot. On Wednesday, two vehicles from the D.C. Metropolitan Police fleet were also parked a few meters away.
Meanwhile, MAGA rage continues. “Senator McConnell is in clear violation of Senate Rule VI by being absent without leave. This rule is straightforward and he needs to face the consequences,” a self-described “America First” voter from Texas wrote on X. “The Senate cannot keep operating this way while important work is ignored. Time to enforce the rules.”
I don’t have an answer for “what Democrats should do” or even “what Republicans should do.” I really don’t know, but it’s a little bit funny to me that Senate Republicans are freaking out as well. Is this state-Republicans versus Senate-Republicans? Is the Kentucky GOP pulling these shenanigans purely to run interference with Beshear possibly appointing McConnell’s replacement? Beshear promised to challenge the half-assed rule which would block this. And what about the DC Met Police hanging out at the hospital? Surely that’s a tremendous waste of resources.
Photos courtesy of Mitch McConnell’s social media, Cover Images.
