McConnell's future could be in doubt
After episode, questions are rising
WASHINGTON ❯❯ It has been decades since there was any real uncertainty at the top of the Republican Party in the Senate. But Sen. Mitch McConnell's alarming freeze-up at a news conference Wednesday at the Capitol, as well as new disclosures about other recent falls, have shaken his colleagues and intensified quiet discussion about how long he can stay in his position as minority leader, and whether change is coming at the top.
For months even before he had an apparent medical episode on camera Wednesday while speaking to the press, McConnell, the long-serving Republican leader from Kentucky, has been weakened, both physically and politically. The latest incident made those issues glaringly apparent: McConnell, 81, froze mid-remarks, unable to continue speaking, and appeared disoriented with his mouth shut as his aides and colleagues led him gently away.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, quickly stepped in behind the lectern and picked up where McConnell had left off. It was a reminder that no one — even McConnell, who this year became the longest-serving Senate leader in history — is irreplaceable and raised questions about how long McConnell could continue.
Months ago, there seemed to be a developing race to succeed him among Thune, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican, and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the former whip; they are known around the Capitol as “the three Johns.” But during McConnell's extended absence earlier this year following a serious fall, Thune moved into the position of taking charge of the conference.
McConnell had a concussion in March when he fell at a Washington hotel during a fundraising event, and was absent from the Senate for weeks while giving almost no updates on his health status. Since then, he has had at least two more falls, one at a Washington airport and one in Helsinki, during an official trip to meet the Finnish president. His office disclosed neither, and has stayed mum about his medical condition on Wednesday after the episode, which some physicians who viewed video of it said could have been a mini stroke or partial seizure.
McConnell, who had polio as a child, often has trouble with stairs and has long walked with a wobbly, uneven gait. But in recent months, he has been using a wheelchair to get around at the airport, which a spokesperson said was “simply a prudent and precautionary measure in a crowded area.”