WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared again Wednesday that he plans to finish his term as leader despite freezing up at two news conferences over the summer, brushing off questions about his health as he sought to reassure colleagues he’s still up to the job.
At a weekly, closed-door lunch with fellow GOP senators on Wednesday, McConnell pointed to the statement released a day earlier by attending physician Brian P. Monahan about his health. He said he was ready to move forward with the Senate’s busy fall agenda.
Monahan’s statement, released by McConnell’s office, said there was no evidence that the 81 year-old McConnell had a stroke or was suffering from a seizure disorder after he froze up and appeared unable to speak for 20-30 seconds at two different news conferences. The episodes came after the GOP leader fell and suffered from a concussion earlier this year.
“I’m going to finish my term as leader and I’m going to finish my Senate term,” McConnell told reporters, dismissing questions and requests for more detail about his medical condition. “I have nothing to add” to Monahan’s statement, he said.
McConnell’s words to the press and his colleagues were his latest efforts to assuage growing concerns about his health and silence questions about whether he can continue to lead his party in the Senate. The famously private Kentucky senator has faced some criticism from colleagues for remaining quiet about the incidents and his health, which has visibly declined since the concussion.
Behind closed doors, McConnell told other Republicans that his health issues are linked to his concussion. He believes that is a “plausible answer” to the questions, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.
Cornyn said McConnell “hasn’t missed a step” in terms of his cognitive abilities or ability to lead. But “physically, it’s been tougher.”
“He was more transparent, which I’m glad he did,” Cornyn said of McConnell’s comments at the private lunch. “This is not his style. But I don’t think keeping things close to the vest serves his interests and it created a lot of speculation. So I think this is a positive development.”
Other Republican senators also said they were satisfied with McConnell’s explanation for the two incidents, the first in Washington in July just before the August recess and the second in Kentucky last week.
