On June 4, 2026, at the Capitol in Washington, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is expected to vote on an amendment to the reconciliation bill in the Senate.
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Questions are mounting over Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 84, after he has remained hospitalized for more than three weeks and few details have been released about his health.
McConnell, the former Senate Majority Leader who declined to seek an eighth term after a series of health concerns, was hospitalized on June 14, media outlets reported.
McConnell’s press secretary at the time confirmed the hospitalization and said the senator was “receiving excellent care,” but gave no other information, according to those outlets.
When asked by CNBC on Tuesday for the latest available information on McConnell’s health, the senator’s office issued the same short statement it issued last week, saying the senator was “grateful for the tremendous support he is receiving as he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
“The senator continues to improve and is working closely with his staff to address issues in Kentucky and the Senate while the Senate is out of session,” the statement said, suggesting McConnell is alert, active and recovering.
Audio of the emergency services call, first reported by journalist Desiree Townsend and later obtained by other news outlets, showed McConnell performing CPR on a person who had gone into cardiac arrest during his Washington speech on the day of his admission. McConnell’s name is not mentioned in the audio. The senator’s office declined to comment on the recording.
Smoldering scrutiny of the senator’s position boiled over this week after Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and ally of President Donald Trump, claimed to have heard from “high-level officials close to the White House” that McConnell was “officially brain dead.”
But multiple officials, including Republican Senate leaders John Thune of South Dakota and John Barrasso of Wyoming, insisted on Tuesday that both had spoken at length with McConnell in recent days.
Thune, the Senate majority leader, spoke by phone with the Kentucky senator on Monday to discuss national security issues and other issues, Thune told CNBC.
Barrasso, the majority member of Congress, spoke with McConnell for about 20 minutes early Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Kate Noyes told CNBC in a statement.
“They caught up on the latest news impacting the Senate race, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court decision on cooperative spending limits,” Noyes said. “The two leaders also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence.”
Mr. McConnell is “fully engaged and eager to return to the Senate,” Mr. Noyes said.
Meanwhile, conservative commentator Scott Jennings said in an X post that he spoke to McConnell by phone on Tuesday morning.
“He is still recovering in the hospital. We spoke for just under 20 minutes…about the unfolding situation in Iran, Ukraine, and Maine, our visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little about the history of the Senate,” Jennings wrote. “I told him I wanted to see him return to work as soon as possible.”
This is developing news. Please check back for the latest information.
