McConnell: 'I'm Going to Finish My Term'

And his GOP colleagues appear to largely support him
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 7, 2023 2:35 AM CDT
Updated Sep 7, 2023 6:34 AM CDT
McConnell Vows He Won't Step Down
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives for a media availability on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Senate Minority 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, the AP reports. 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 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. Other Republican senators 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.

(More Mitch McConnell stories.)

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