Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff claims that his health is improving after a recent emergency hospital trip, but as one medical expert argued, his situation means that he is overall “unfit to serve” the rest of his term in office.
McConnell is a long-tenured Senator from Kentucky, best known for his many years as the GOP’s Senate majority leader, where he used blunt and controversial tactics to block the agendas of Democratic presidents and Congresses. Having handed off that role to Sen. John Thune, he is set to retire in January, opting not to seek reelection in the 2026 midterms.
While he, 84, might be on his way out, McConnell’s final years and months in office have seen him beset by highly publicized health issues, raising concerns about how his advanced age is impeding his ability to serve. Most recently, reports emerged in mid-June that he was found unconscious and rushed to the hospital, and he has not been seen in public since. While his staff has insisted that he is on the mend, the situation has nonetheless prompted speculation that he is near death, or dead already.
In a video shared this week, Hilary Shae, a licensed speech-language pathologist and political content creator, discussed the odd situation surrounding McConnell and argued that he should not serve out the remainder of his term in the Senate. As a medical professional, Shae specializes in concussion recovery, with her political commentary being focused on giving professional insights into President Donald Trump’s signs of physical and cognitive decline.
“Even if he is alive, he is unfit to serve, and he should not be finishing out his term through January,” Shae said. “Mitch McConnell is 84 years old, and his health history is not good. He has a history of multiple falls — one of which was significant for concussion — and what appeared to be TIAs, or transient ischemic attacks, and it does not appear that he really came back to his full self. He did not return to his baseline after his concussion.”
She noted further that McConnell’s symptoms from his most recent episodes, including cardiac arrest and being unresponsive, indicated that he was potentially not getting enough oxygen to his brain, a part of his body that had already been through significant stress from his falls. She said that, if she were a professional working with the senator as a patient, she would have major concerns about how returning to work might impede his ability to recover, and would recommend that, given his age and history, he retire “immediately.”
Shae suggested that those around McConnell are playing a “political game” with him, trying to keep him alive and in office until the end of his term to prevent the possibility of a Democrat taking his seat. If he were to pass away or resign prior to the end of his term, McConnell’s seat would be filled by Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, a Democrat.
“And I think we’re playing the same game with Donald Trump,” she added. “Keep Trump alive until January, and then no one will give a s——t what happens to him, because then if he dies, that means JD Vance can come in and be [president], and they think he can actually get elected to more terms. Sure, okay.”