Mitch McConnell says he isn’t resigning, has support from Sen. Mitt Romney, other Republican senators

Gitanjali Poonia
·3 min read
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters after a closed-door GOP strategy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. McConnell did not elaborate on his health status in the wake of two public episodes where he froze while talking to the press.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made his first public appearance Wednesday after freezing up while taking questions from reporters in Kentucky last week.

After he briefly spoke about the work Congress has to do to pass 12 spending bills before Sept. 30, to avoid a government shutdown, and reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, McConnell, 81, took questions.

Reporters repeatedly asked the senator for details about what made him unable to answer questions — and McConnell, without going into any specifics, pointed to the medical report his office released.

“I don’t have anything to add to it,” McConnell, R-Ky., said. “I think it should answer any reasonable questions.”

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In the report, Dr. Brian Monahan, McConnell’s physician, stated that he saw no evidence of the senator experiencing a seizure, stroke or a symptom of Parkinson’s disease in extended medical testing after the incident.

But it did not answer why McConnell lost his ability to respond for 30 seconds.

This is the second time in recent months that McConnell, R-Ky., has frozen while making a public appearance. The senator abruptly stopped speaking for 15 seconds while giving his remarks at a press conference in July, according to the Deseret News.

Should McConnell step down? Here’s what GOP lawmakers say

When reporters asked McConnell if he plans to retire soon, he said he has “no announcements to make on that subject.”

“I am going to finish my term as leader, and I’m going to finish my Senate term,” he added.

McConnell’s term ends in 2026, while his position as the GOP leader in the Senate ends in 2024. He continues to receive support from his colleagues in the Senate, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.

“We might lose from Mitch McConnell 20 seconds a day. But the other 86,380 seconds are pretty darn good. So I’m supporting him,” Romney, a Republican, told a reporter.

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The Utah senator told Politico that there is no question about McConnell being able to lead the Republican Conference.

“He’s proven he’s able to raise money like no one else in our political history at this level, and I think he’ll continue to have full support,” he said.

Others like Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., argued that McConnell was cleared by a physician and “given a clean bill of health.”

“He indicated he’s had two of these episodes and both of them happened to be during press conferences,” Kennedy added.

Even if GOP lawmakers have doubts about McConnell’s abilities to lead his party in the coming years, very few have called for his resignation.

“He’s got a very small group of people that would even ask the question,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “Maybe a handful.”

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During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, McConnell briefly addressed his inability to respond to reporters’ questions, before excusing it as the result of a “busy month.”

“Now, 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 busy and productive month for me and my staff back in the commonwealth,” he said.