Republican leaders seek to quell Mitch McConnell speculation as rebellion grows

John Thune says he spoke to McConnell on phone as secrecy over 84-year-old’s health prompts Maga backlash

Republican leaders have moved to quash speculation about Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the US Senate, amid a growing revolt over the lack of transparency around his health.

The 84-year-old Kentucky politician, who led Senate Republicans for longer than anyone in history before stepping down last year, was admitted to hospital on 14 June but his office declined to say what he was being treated for.

The secrecy led to a backlash from Donald Trump’s support base, with some claiming that McConnell’s condition is graver than acknowledged and accusing his office of a cover-up.

On Tuesday, John Thune , McConnell’s successor as Republican leader, sought to quell the anger by claiming that he had spoken by phone with McConnell on Monday. A Thune spokesperson said: “They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”

Senate Republican whip John Barrasso also weighed in. Kate Noyes, a spokesperson for the Wyoming senator, said on Tuesday: “Senator Barrasso and Senator McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes.”

The men discussed Senate races, including the scandal involving Democrat Graham Platner in Maine, and a recent supreme court ruling on coordinated spending limits, as well as the Senate’s July work period, according to Noyes. “Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”

The health of McConnell, who had polio in early childhood, has been under close scrutiny for years. He was hospitalised in 2023 after a fall that left him with a concussion, later froze twice during public appearances, sprained his wrist in another fall in 2024 and spent more than a week in hospital earlier this year for flu-like symptoms.

On 14 June McConnell’s office said he had been taken to hospital and was “receiving excellent care” without providing further details. But according to recordings of dispatcher calls obtained by several media outlets, paramedics performed CPR on an “unconscious” person who appeared to be experiencing cardiac arrest at the home of McConnell on the same day. The person was not named.

McConnell’s office said last week : “Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery 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.”

Meanwhile, McConnell’s wife, former cabinet member Elaine Chao, reportedly returned to the US on Tuesday after a trip to China. Some observers had seen her willingness to travel abroad as evidence of McConnell’s stable condition.

It remains unclear whether McConnell will be able to return when senators come back to Washington next week. Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate, leaving Thune with little room for missing votes or defections as he tries to advance spending bills and other priorities before November’s midterm elections.

The secrecy around McConnell’s latest hospitalisation has fuelled conspiracy theories on the right, where he is regarded as a longtime Trump foe, and demands for proof that he is still alive .

“We need the truth about Mitch McConnell NOW,” conservative commentator Glenn Beck posted on X. “It is unacceptable that the party who spent four years criticizing Joe Biden’s health is now silent on McConnell’s. What’s the difference between that and what Iran’s leaders are doing with the new Ayatollah?”

“Is McConnell braindead? Or is he chatting about Graham Platner and Iran?” Beck continued. “It is OUR RIGHT to know.”

Steve Bannon , a podcast host and former White House chief strategist, suggested that McConnell remains the true leader of Senate resistance to Trump. “Remember, this Senate hates Trump, disrespects Trump and does more to stop President Trump’s efforts than [Democrat Chuck] Schumer,” he said by phone. “The chief obstructionist has always been Mitch McConnell; all the rest of it is kabuki theatre.

“If Mitch McConnell is over in the hospital growing moss on his north side then it’s going to be harder for those guys. That’s what they’re panicked about. Trump would get even more aggressive if he knew Mitch was no longer on the scene and you’re just left to the infantile thoughts of Thune.”

McConnell has not voted since 11 June. Suspicions around his health threatened to join the Jeffrey Epstein files and Iran war as another wedge issue for Republicans and the “Make America great again” (Maga) movement.

Scott Jennings, a political commentator from Kentucky, posted on X that he had spoken to McConnell in hospital on Tuesday morning. “We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”

But Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Republican congresswoman who has turned against Trump, responded to Jennings : “Of course it is the great RINO Republican establishment hack and paid McConnell consultant that comes out with ‘proof of life.’ So pathetic you can’t even make it up.”

McConnell is not seeking reelection and is due to retire in January after a congressional career that began in 1985. If he were to resign or die before then, Kentucky law would require a special election rather than allowing Democratic governor Andy Beshear to appoint a temporary successor.

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman, noted on social media that McConnell blew a chance to convict Trump at his impeachment trial following the January 6 2021 insurrection.

“I have no clue what is up with Mitch McConnell,” Kinzinger wrote . “I wish him good health. But I know this: he grew the alligator in the bathtub that eventually escaped. He could have ended Trump politically. In exchange he got a few more years of power… and a party of people who hate him and call his wife a Chinese spy. Hope it was worth it.”