Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sought to quell fears within the GOP about his health at a private lunch meeting of Senate Republicans, The Hill reported.
The 81-year-old lawmaker acknowledged to his colleagues on Wednesday that he’s still recovering from the March concussion that landed him in the hospital, joking that he’s “not a 25-year-old quarterback.”
McConnell reportedly addressed concerns about his health at the beginning of the weekly lunch meeting and summarized the findings of attending Capitol physician Brian Monahan.
Monahan concluded that there was “no evidence” McConnell experienced a stroke or suffers from a seizure disorder or neurological disease.
“Sen. McConnell announced basically what Dr. Monahan said in his letter yesterday,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told The Hill. “I think that was pretty much the end of it. There weren’t any questions.”
“Reading Dr. Monahan’s letter and listening to Sen. McConnell, it sounds like he’s just having a little bit of a bumpy recovery from the concussion, which is not unusual,” Cornyn added. “He’s back in the saddle.”
McConnell appeared to struggle when speaking to reporters in Kentucky in late August, the second time in as many months.
When asked if he will run for reelection, McConnell was silent for more than 30 seconds. He also froze for 19 seconds at a press conference in July before being led away from the television cameras.
The Kentucky senator insisted in July that he was “fine,” while he admitted on Wednesday that coming back from his concussion has taken time.
“I think what he’s saying is most people our age” take longer to recover from getting “knocked in the head” compared to a 25-year-old quarterback, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told The Hill when asked about McConnell’s comments.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who is also a physician, said Monahan’s medical report was encouraging.
“I thought he looked better today than he did before we left,” he told The Hill of McConnell. “We’re concerned about his health but I take Dr. Monahan at his word that he had conferred with [McConnell’s] neurologists, who had seen his EEG, his MRI, his lab work and they all checked out.”
McConnell “had a little problem recovering, perhaps, from his concussion,” but seems to be improving, Marshall added.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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