It has now been two full months since Senator Mitch McConnell suffered a fall and was rushed to the hospital in Washington, D.C.
Since the emergency responders rushed him away in an ambulance, no one apart from his team and inner circle has set eyes on the man who was once one of the most powerful men in the United States.
His team has released only two images of the 84-year-old since he vanished from public view; he’s made no calls to news outlets despite claims he has spoken with multiple allies, and he’s provided no video updates to the people of Kentucky.
McConnell’s team last updated the public more than a week ago, with a statement attributed to the senator released on August 6.
It revealed that the Kentucky Republican had been discharged from rehab and would continue his recovery at home, where he would “maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy.” It also indicated he would continue working on Senate business.
Since then, a series of people have been spotted going in and out of McConnell’s Washington, D.C. townhouse, including his chief of staff Terry Carmack, who refuses to answer questions on his boss’s condition despite raking in a more than $226,000 annual salary.
McConnell’s team did not respond to the Daily Beast’s inquiry on Friday about how the senator’s recovery is progressing or how he’s carrying out his days.
It’s unclear whether McConnell will be able to return to Kentucky at any point during the Senate’s five-week recess after lawmakers rushed out of town at the end of last week. They are not set to return to Washington until mid-September.
Whether McConnell returns to the halls of Congress when his colleagues head back from their home states remains unknown, as is the rest of his recovery timeline.
While McConnell has remained behind closed doors since being rushed to the hospital on June 14 after falling and becoming briefly unconscious, as his team claimed, there are a small number of men who say they have spoken to him.
He’s had calls with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Whip John Barrasso, according to them.
Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings, who previously worked for McConnell, has also insisted he has been speaking to his old boss, including as recently as this week.
Jennings said that McConnell called him directly on Tuesday and insisted the senator being at home has been an improvement for him.
Apparently, while the senator won’t call the Democratic governor of his own state to check in or engage with any media outlets directly, he was happy to talk about campaigns with his former aide.
“We talked a lot about the Michigan Senate race. We talked about Maine a little bit, talking about just the map in general,” Jennings told CNN.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s office on Friday slammed McConnell’s refusal to address his constituents.
“Sen. McConnell has made no effort to communicate with either the governor or the people of Kentucky,” spokesperson Scottie Ellis told the Daily Beast. “The governor hopes for a full recovery for the Senator but believes he works for the people of the commonwealth who deserve to hear from him directly.”
“The Senate is broken under Majority Leader Thune’s leadership. Thune will do nothing to address McConnell’s absence, while Rand Paul admits he hasn’t spoken to his fellow Kentucky Senator in two months. It’s unacceptable,” Ellis added.
While McConnell has vanished from public view and has provided only limited updates on his progress through intermediaries, he has been paid a Senate salary for his two months away. Senators make a base annual salary of $174,000.
