With no word from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office on how the Kentucky Republican is faring, one analyst suggested it could be his wife pulling the strings.
The former Senate majority leader has been mostly incommunicado since June 14 after a fall that led him to be hospitalized, with the only proof of life being several pictures of him with his wife Elaine Chao.
Given her history in government, and how McConnell’s last few years have been “stage-managed” by his aides to hide his frailties, Salon’s Amanda Marcotte suggested it could be that Chao is clinging to his power and influence as much as the 84-year-old lawmaker is clinging to life.
Elaine Chao’s background in government spans decades, Marcotte noted: she served in the Cabinets of President Donald Trump, George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush. Ronald Reagan appointed her to government positions. She continues to engage in international power-brokering and diplomatic work.
“But whatever her level of responsibility, it’s not surprising that McConnell’s wife is the center of many conspiracy theories. It wasn’t that long ago that then-First Lady Jill Biden was engaged in ham-fisted efforts to deny and downplay her husband’s inability to do his job,” she wrote.
When McConnell was hospitalized in June, Chao was in China conducting meetings with high-ranking officials, including the country’s vice president Han Zheng. She did not cut her trip short to return to her husband’s side immediately.
Chao’s continued engagement in foreign diplomacy and international business dealings suggests she “continues to engage in power-brokering” around the world by leaning on her husband’s political power, diminished though it may be. Her government appointments and access to world leaders derive substantially from her status as the wife of one of the most powerful figures in American politics
As Marcotte put it, “Whatever dealings she has with foreign leaders, she surely gains leverage from her connection to such a powerful man.”
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