Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directly asking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the state’s most powerful figure in Congress, to disclose more about his condition after three weeks of silence from the 84-year-old since he was hospitalized in Washington.
The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”
McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders on Tuesday made public statements saying they had talked to McConnell and that he was alert and discussing current events.
McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.
Under the latest change in 2024, if the seat becomes vacant before Aug. 3, there would be a special election to pick a replacement, perhaps held concurrently with the general election in November. The special election winner could take office nearly immediately. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January.
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I think this is a good first action as long as it's followed up with what you're saying. While I'm all for ruthless, I think that some supporters or potential supporters may see it poorly to go super hard on someone possibly on their deathbed. Releasing a public statement giving an opportunity to prove he's capable of doing his duties can't really be attacked by anyone and opens the door to push harder if nothing comes from the request. If there's nothing by end of week, it may be more acceptable to some people at that point to press the issue.
I'm onboard with your statement though. I'd like to see every Democrat piling on. McConnell is a ghoul and doesn't deserve any semblance of respect. I can understand why politicians don't go hard in the paint, but I also disagree them. Fuck McConnell.
Oh for fucks sake the president rapes kids. I’m so sick of pretending like people actually care about this shit. They don’t. They read horrific statements from the presidents mouth every fucking day. They don’t give a fuck about Mitch on his death bed. It’s virtue signaling horse shit. Fuck Mitch I hope he’s suffering.
This is the kind of shit that helped lead us to where we are.
Just hammer on the corruption aspect. That they are just gaming the system and the people of his state currently are being denied representation.
Have some balls. All of this shit is a national emergency.
Like I said, I agree with you. Unfortunately, not everyone does. If a politician loses too much favor, the spot often flips to the other side. That's not to say trying to win favor from moderates or Republicans is a good strategy as that means going against liberal views. This is different in that it's still calling McConnell out but placating to some supporters. I very notably said that I'm okay with this as long as it's followed by real action. If not, then it's just empty words. It's a fine first step if it is just the first step.
We've seen this play out over and over. He'll gain favor with centrists who will vote Republican anyways, and lose favor with progressives who will stay home. Then we will blame the voters and not the policy choice.
Republicans not being honest with us and will not cooperate or compromise. You can't win a football game with all punts.
This is hardly a punt though and I don't believe is catering to moderates. It put a spotlight on the situation and called for action. Next step is to escalate, which should reasonably happen within a couple days of the initial statement he released. Anyone that stays home because the statement from the governor of Kentucky was harsh enough is an idiot and absolutely would shoulder some blame for not voting and losing an election. It's not like Beshear raped kids or did something bad. It can definitely be argued his actions don't go far enough, but only an real moron would decided to sit out the election because of this and deserves every bit of criticism coming their way.
Do you disagree with "all of this shit is a national emergency"? Mitch is covering for people who literally do rape kids; respecting his deathbed is a real bad look. We can make whatever judgements we want of non-voters, but allowing Republicans to run out the clock will create them.
I certainly hope you're right, and Beshear escalates very hard.
I don't disagree at all. As I mentioned, I'm all for dragging Mitch through the mud, literally if that's an option. I just don't yet hate Beshear's action here. If this is the end of what he does, then yea, I'll definitely be disappointed. If he follows up and goes harder, then I think this is perfectly fine as a start.
Yea so the people that don’t agree are wrong and are either fascists or their stupid useful idiots. No time to figure out which, but we need to make sure they have no say in anything.
At some point if people’s stupid fucking opinions lead to loss of rights and freedoms when do you think we are allowed to defend ourselves from that? Never because there are conveniently ignorant? Fuck that shit.
How dare some people have a semblance of empathy even for a piece of shit like McConnell . You're right, we should make sure that these people that may vote Democrat have no say going forward. Shame on those fascists.
Beshear is an attorney, and a pretty good one at that. I'm sure he knows exactly how the procedure is supposed to work. His style is to follow the appropriate procedure to the letter while continually communicating with the public in the interest of transparency.
"Ruthless" is not a part of his public persona. He's a two-term Democratic governor in a state with a Republican super-majority in the legislature. He has spent a lot of time cultivating his "faith and family values" reputation, which could help push him onto the national stage. He's not going to squander that for a situation where he doesn't even get a say in the replacement. (Because, again, Republican super-majority. They knew this was coming and couldn't stand the idea that the governor would have the power to appoint McConnell's successor.)
How could you possibly believe this in 2026?
Yes, in the year 2026, I firmly believe that Andy Beshear is a life-long bureaucrat with a carefully cultivated public persona and no desire to rock the boat and shatter any possibility of a run for President.
This is not a hot take.
They expressed a belief about a Democrat going easy on Republicans to support his future aspirations. They're not suggesting anyone is being particularly wholesome.
I heard the limitation was against the state constitution? Imo he should call their bluff and appoint a replacement. What is the risk, a faux pas (according to those who already don’t support him) and some lawsuits with the upside being a senate seat and shining light on republican corruption?
That's an interesting angle. If that's true, he probably wouldn't have standing to challenge the law until the situation actually arose.
I lived in Kentucky for more than a decade, but I don't know anything about its constitution.