On Monday (Sept. 14), Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the United States Senate after an absence of nearly three months. However, the return stoked more questions about McConnell’s health, especially as reporters were told they couldn’t record video of McConnell speaking to the press.
The longtime Republican politician was spotted by TMZ in a wheelchair, surrounded by staffers and security as he was placed into a vehicle to venture to the Capitol building. The footage showed McConnell with a smile on his face, but not speaking to anyone.
As McConnell was wheeled into the Capitol, members of the press were barred from recording video of McConnell addressing reporters, even though it is permitted in that second-floor corridor. Still images were allowed. This was confirmed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Punchbowl News senior reporter Andrew Desiderio.
The revelation caused an uproar online. “Um What?” progressive outlet Tennessee Holler wrote in a post on X, adding: “PSA: The moment you obeyed that command you stopped being ‘reporters.’”
The 84-year-old reportedly spoke to the press outside of the Senate chambers, notably slower with some strain. Ahead of his appearance, his office released a statement from him saying he looked forward to voting on a farming bill and “backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians.”
McConnell was absent since June after allegedly suffering a fall at his Washington, D.C., home. Reports then emerged that he was found unconscious and that CPR was administered to him, which led some in the public to believe that he might have passed away. Since then, many have reiterated a call for term limits in Congress.
The speculation grew during his absence, which was exacerbated by Republican politicians claiming to have spoken with him, and his wife, former Treasury Secretary Elaine Chao, posing with him in a photo in the hospital while he was rehabilitating.
1. Jamesetta Williams
