Mitch McConnell

McConnell’s office announced his latest health issue with a brief and vague statement issued on Sunday, June 14.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning,” said spokesperson David Popp. “He is receiving excellent care.”

Two and a half weeks later, audio emerged from a dispatch call that suggested emergency medical personnel were called to McConnell’s Washington, D.C. home because an “unconscious person” was in possible “cardiac arrest.” The call went out at 8:36 a.m. on July 14. An ambulance was dispatched with an advanced life support crew. Six minutes later, a medic on the call said “CPR in progress.” They were then joined by another EMS team at the same address.

Audio from the public EMS dispatch call was first shared on July 1 by independent journalist Desirée Townsend, and was then reviewed by several other media outlets including NBC News and CBS News.

CNN noted, “McConnell’s name is not mentioned in the recording, but the address that paramedics responded to is known to be his address. CNN has not confirmed the details of what dispatchers and medics described in the audio.”

A day after announcing McConnell’s hospitalization, his office issued a statement saying he was “fully engaged” and receiving “outstanding care.”

“Senator McConnell is fully engaged with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters and is very appreciative of the outstanding care he is receiving,” a McConnell spokesman said in a statement, per ABC News.

When NBC News asked McConnell’s office about the audio of the EMS call on July 1, they were referred a statement spokesman David Popp had issued on June 22.

“Senator McConnell is still working closely with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters as he continues his recovery. However, he will not be voting this week,” Popp said.

On July 2, the office released another statement that vaguely suggested the senator is getting better.

“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” Popp said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

McConnell’s staff has repeatedly issued this same statement when media outlets ask for an update on his condition.

A day after McConnell was hospitalized, the top two Senate Republicans told reporters that they had spoken to their Kentucky colleague. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said McConnell “sounded good.”

“He wants to be back, but I’ll defer to his staff on when,” Thune told CNN. “He’s clearly dialed into what’s going on. He’s following the stuff we’re doing this week.”

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said McConnell was “looking forward to getting back,” per CNN. “We’ll see, time will tell, but he’s hoping to be back this week,” he added.

The Majority Whip did not share any information on why McConnell was in the hospital, but he said that, “he was engaged on what we’re doing on the floor, asked about what’s happening the rest of the week and asked about timing of votes.”

On June 22, eight days after McConnell was hospitalized, Thune told reporters he had spoken with McConnell “toward the end of last week” and he “sounded good and was anxious to get back.”

A day after Loomer claimed McConnell is “brain dead,” the two top Republicans issued statements saying they just spoke with him, as WLKY reported:

We then got a statement from Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s team, who said he spoke with McConnell Monday by phone, released around 1:30 p.m. “They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security,” the statement said.

Another statement came in from Senate Whip John Barrasso (R) also just before 1:30 p.m.:

“Senator Barrasso and Senator McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes. They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits. 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.”

Scott Jennings, a CNN pundit and former McConnell adviser, also claimed he spoke with the senator after Loomer’s morbid declaration:

WLKY noted: “Quickly after receiving all of these, McConnell’s office put out an email to news outlets ‘flagging’ the same three statements.”

Aside from Thune, Barrasso, and Jennings no one else has said they spoke with McConnell. As the Daily Beast reported, Senator Mike Lee said he and his colleagues aren’t keeping quiet because they’re part of some elaborate cover-up, they just don’t know anything:

On Monday night, MAGA social media user Mila Joy speculated about why other senators have not spoken out about McConnell’s condition. “Because they are ALL in on it together. That’s why,” she posted to her 571,000 X followers.

In reply, Lee posted: “Many of us aren’t speaking about Mitch McConnell’s condition because we know nothing about his condition.”

McConnell is a childhood polio survivor and he has experienced several health issues in recent years.

In 2023, he was hospitalized with a concussion after a fall at a Washington hotel. He was away from the Senate for several weeks. Later that year, he froze and struggled to speak while addressing the press on two separate occasions.

In 2024, a spokesman said McConnell suffered “minor injuries” after a fall in his office and would be working from home.

In February of this year, McConnell spent more than a week in the hospital after checking himself in for what a spokesperson described as “flu-like symptoms.” He was spotted with a bandage around his hand at a May 19 committee meeting, according to CBS News.