GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell health concerns grow, rumors spread

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Questions about the 84-year-old lawmaker have been hospitalized for more than three weeks and few details about his health have been released.

McConnell, the former Senate majority leader who declined to seek an eighth term following a series of health concerns, was hospitalized on June 14, news outlets reported.

At the time, the senator’s spokesman confirmed he was hospitalized and said he “received excellent care,” news outlets reported, but provided no further information.

Asked by CNBC on Tuesday for the latest available information on McConnell’s health, the senator’s office offered the same brief statement released last week, saying the senator “appreciates the support he has received as he continues to recover in the hospital.”

“The Senator continues to improve and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session,” the statement said, suggesting that McConnell is lucid, active and recovering. The statement was included.

First the sound of emergency calls reported made by journalist Desiree Townsend and later taken over by others news sourcesResponders stated that McConnell performed CPR on a person who was having a heart attack at his Washington address on the day he was hospitalized. McConnell’s name is not mentioned in the audio. The senator’s office declined to comment on the record.

Intense scrutiny of the senator’s status intensified this week after right-wing activist and President Donald Trump ally Laura Loomer issued the following statement: requested McConnell was said to be “officially brain dead” by a “senior source close to the White House.”

But several people, including GOP Senate leaders John Thune of South Dakota and John Barrasso of Wyoming, suggested Tuesday that both had spoken at length with McConnell in recent days.

Thune, the Senate majority leader, spoke by phone with the Kentucky senator on Monday and discussed national security issues and other matters, a Thune spokesman told CNBC.

Spokesperson Kate Noyes told CNBC that Barrasso, who makes up the majority of the chamber, had a meeting for about 20 minutes on Tuesday afternoon.

“They caught up on the latest news affecting the Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the Supreme Court’s recent decision on coordinated spending limits,” Noyes said. “They also discussed the Senate’s July study period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence.”

Noyes said McConnell is “fully engaged and willing to come back to the Senate.”

Meanwhile, conservative commentator Scott Jennings said in an X post that he spoke to McConnell by phone Tuesday morning.

Jennings said, “The recovery process continues in the hospital. We talked for only about 20 minutes about IRAN, UKRAINE, the situation in MAINE, my visit to the Presidential Library of the Republic of Turkey, and even a little bit of Senate history.” he wrote. “I told him we want to see him back in action as soon as possible.”

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.