Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell is just the latest member of the Senate to be absent for an extended period of time because of poor health.

But a charged political environment and a social media storm have intensified demands for more transparency regarding the 84-year-old’s condition, and for Mr. McConnell, whose term ends in January, to step aside if he cannot participate in the Senate for the remainder of his tenure.

“As Governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign,” Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, a Democrat, wrote to Mr. McConnell on Monday as the senator passed his sixth week in a hospital after a fall at his home on Capitol Hill.

Few who know him believe Mr. McConnell is going anywhere. Here’s why.

Illness has sidelined many senators for long periods.

Over the decades, many senators have missed months and even years of Senate business, with some recent prominent figures such as John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, going months without voting before they both died in office, of brain cancer, at the end of storied careers.

Mr. McConnell, the Senate Republican leader for nearly 18 years, had a prolonged absence himself after a serious fall in 2023 that sidelined him for five weeks. He ultimately announced that he would not try to return as leader in 2026, followed by his decision that he would not seek re-election to an eighth term this year. He also passed on his right to chair the Appropriations Committee, a demanding job, and instead took over a subcommittee. His Senate tenure is set to end at noon on Jan. 3, 2027.

Stories of senators refusing to leave despite debilitating medical conditions are legion. Senator Karl Mundt of South Dakota was absent from the Senate for the final three years of his term after suffering a stroke in 1969, and refused calls that he resign.

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