Mitch McConnell Hospitalization Deepens Health Mystery After CPR Audio At Washington, D.C. Home

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14 after emergency dispatch audio indicated an “unconscious person” and that “CPR in progress” was underway at his Washington, D.C., home.

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The Guardian said McConnell “has not been seen in public since he was admitted to hospital in the Washington area on 14 June,” while his office has released only sparse updates saying he is “continuing to improve.”

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CNN video footage released on Friday showed a person on a stretcher being wheeled toward an ambulance, and the senator’s office has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, leaving speculation to fill the gap.

In Washington, D.C., a neighbor told CNN that Capitol Police blocked the street and that two ambulances and a fire truck were on the scene when the person was taken from the home on a stretcher wrapped in a blanket.

As Congress prepares to return from recess next week, the Guardian reported that McConnell’s continued absence threatens to complicate Republican efforts with only a narrow 53-47 majority, and it said he chairs the Senate rules committee and a defence appropriations panel.

The Guardian also quoted Malcolm Nance saying, “I think he’s dead,” adding that he described hearing “that 911 tape” and arguing the probability of coming back from CPR is “very, very, very small.”

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In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear published an open letter urging McConnell to provide reassurance to constituents, writing that “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being.”

Beshear’s intervention came alongside statements from Senate Republicans John Thune and John Barrasso, who said they had spoken with McConnell and described him as alert and engaged, while Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “I have no idea how he’s doing.”

The Guardian said the Senate returns on Monday for a four-week legislative session dominated by defence spending, national security and government funding bills, and it warned that McConnell’s absence could make partisan disputes over annual appropriations harder to resolve ahead of the 1 October deadline for new federal spending.

It added that congressional leaders were already signalling that another temporary spending measure may be needed to avert a government shutdown, while also noting that Senate rules do not permit proxy voting so Republicans simply lose one vote whenever McConnell is absent.

NewsNation reported that McConnell’s absence will likely play a role in whether his party can advance plans for increased defense spending out of the Senate Appropriations Committee starting next week, with McConnell hospitalized since June 14 and his staff remaining tight-lipped about his health status.

NewsNation said the Appropriations defense subcommittee, which McConnell heads, oversees military spending, and it cited a Washington Post report that Trump administration officials requested an additional $87.6 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon and other federal agencies tied to the ongoing war with Iran.