Questions about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health are not altogether new. It was nearly three years ago, for example, when the Kentucky Republican was seen with significant discoloration on his hands and lips, though the senator waved off questions and insisted he was fine. This year, those questions have grown quite a bit louder. In March, for example, McConnell was hospitalized after tripping at a hotel and was reportedly treated for a concussion. NBC News also reported that the GOP senator tripped and fell disembarking from a plane in...

Sen. Rand Paul said he isn’t buying the diagnosis of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by the U.S. Capitol’s top doctor following a second freezing episode last week. Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, said Mr. McConnell’s latest on-camera paralysis was the result of “lightheadedness” in connection to recovering from a concussion incurred by the 81-year-old during a fall earlier this year and that dehydration may have played a part. “Everybody’s seen the clips,” Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican and an ophthalmologist by trade, told reporters Tuesday. “It’s not a...

Who or what isn’t facing the heat in Washington? How many different ways can we use the word “meltdown”? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 81, appealed Tuesday for his colleagues’ confidence that he can do the job after two episodes he and his physicians chalk up to lightheadedness after a March concussion. Why does it matter? Because Senate and House Republicans are likely headed toward a clash expected to fester beyond available government funding. A shutdown is a potential mess that McConnell and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) each vowed...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has a clean bill of health to continue to work after a Capitol physician failed to find any evidence of stroke or seizure following two incidents in which the 81-year-old senator confused during press conferences. The senator's office, for its part, attributes the incidents to "lightheadedness." But that explanation doesn't hold water, said CNN medical expert Dr. Jonathan Reiner. "I think you need to really read between the lines of what Dr. Monaghan wrote," Reiner told host Erin Burnett. "He wrote, there is no...

CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner isn’t sold on the assessments of two recent incidents in which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) froze while speaking in front of the press. On Tuesday, Attending Physician of Congress Brian Monahan issued a letter to McConnell, who missed time in the Senate earlier this year after sustaining a concussion after a fall. During the freeze-ups this summer, the senator appeared to enter a catatonic state in which he was unresponsive to questions. “My examination of you following your August 30, 2023 episode included...

WASHINGTON — While Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., received well wishes from most of his colleagues following his second health episode where he froze while speaking to reporters, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., still has questions about the leader’s health − even after he was cleared by doctors. “I don't think it's been particularly helpful to have the Senate doctor describing it as dehydration, which I think even a non-physician seeing that probably aren't really accepting that explanation,” Paul told reporters Tuesday, according to Punchbowl.

Several Republican senators expressed concerns about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) health and his ability to lead their caucus even though a doctor said he was clear to resume his duties in the upper chamber. “Next year is gonna be tough on anybody,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said of the 2024 calendar. “You gotta travel, raise money, campaign ... it is going to be a packed year for anybody, but if you’re the leader, it’s double.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), meanwhile, said he was concerned about McConnell’s health and...

WASHINGTON — All eyes were on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Tuesday afternoon during an otherwise routine speech as the Kentucky lawmaker made his first public remarks since freezing before reporters last week in Kentucky. McConnell finished his opening floor remarks with no incidents as the Senate reconvened Tuesday, following a six-week recess when lawmakers returned to their home districts. “One particular moment of my time back home has received its fair share of attention in the press over the past week, but I assure you August was a...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered his first floor speech since he froze at a press gaggle in Kentucky last month. After a reporter asked McConnell if he will run for reelection in 2026, the senator appeared to enter a stupor. It was his second such incident in less than two months. He was sidelined earlier this year after falling and sustaining a concussion. McConnell briefly addressed concerns about his health on Tuesday. “Now, one particular moment of my time back home has received its fair share of attention...