Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky sent a letter to Senator Mitch McConnell on Wednesday demanding that he update his constituents on his health as rumors swirl about the Republican senator’s condition after his hospitalization last month.
Mr. McConnell, 84, has been in the hospital since June 14, when medics were called to his Washington address to respond to a report of an unconscious individual. A worker later informed his supervisor over emergency radio that CPR was “in progress.”
Mr. McConnell’s staff members have not disclosed what prompted his hospitalization or what treatment he is receiving. On Tuesday, several Republicans said they had spoken to Mr. McConnell for about 20 minutes each.
In the letter to Mr. McConnell — who is planning to retire at the end of his term in January — Mr. Beshear, a Democrat, wrote that Kentucky residents had “grown increasingly concerned over the state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”
He continued: “As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to represent them and to always be transparent. I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve.”
Mr. Beshear, a second-term governor in a state largely loyal to President Trump, has been ascendant in the Democratic Party and is widely expected to run for president in 2028.
Mr. McConnell’s absence has also renewed scrutiny over a 2021 Kentucky law that changed how a U.S. Senate vacancy can be filled. Rather than allow the governor free rein to choose a successor, the law says a temporary appointee must be chosen from a list of three people selected by the state executive committee of the absent senator’s political party.
A special election would be held to fill the seat only for the remainder of the term, if the vacancy happened more than three months before the next election.
Mr. Beshear vetoed that change, saying it “improperly and unconstitutionally restricts the governor’s power” to fill vacancies. But the Republican-led legislature overrode the veto, and there has not yet been a test of that change.
Mr. McConnell’s recent hospitalization is part of a recent string of health issues for the aging senator. He was hospitalized in February for a week after experiencing flulike symptoms. He suffered a concussion in a serious fall in 2023 and was hospitalized and then transferred to an inpatient physical rehabilitation center.
He had in recent months used a wheelchair to travel from his office building to the Capitol, although days before his hospitalization he was able to walk on his own.
Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.
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