WASHINGTON — As rumors have swirled about Sen.Mitch McConnell’s health, top Senate Republican leaders and a former McConnell adviser say they have spoken to the Kentucky Republican by phone in the past two days.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14, when paramedics responded to an unconscious individual who was experiencing cardiac arrest at his home address, and CPR was administered.
He has not been seen since, and his office has not provided details on what led to his hospitalization or when he might return to the Capitol.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke to McConnell by phone on Monday, a Thune spokesperson said.“They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security,” the spokesperson said.The No.
2 GOP leader, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, Barrasso spokeswoman Kate Noyes said.“They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits,” Noyes said in a statement.“They 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.
Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”And conservative political strategist and pundit Scott Jennings, a former McConnell campaign adviser, said he also had connected with the Kentucky senator by phone Tuesday on a range of subjects.“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky.He’s still recovering in the hospital,” Jennings posted on X.
“We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even...