It’s been a difficult few months for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
After suffering a fall in March, and then having another incident during a news conference earlier this month, there have been questions about his future.
But, according to a statement from his office, McConnell intends to remain as the leader of the GOP for the remainder of the 118th Congress.
At 81 years old, McConnell has had multiple health crises that have raised questions about his political future.
In March he suffered a fall at a Washington-area hotel which resulted in him receiving extended treatment for a concussion and fracturing one of his ribs.
Then during the weekly Senate Republican Agenda press conference he froze while speaking to reporters and colleagues stepped in to help him away from the podium.
He later joked about getting an unexpected call from President Joe Biden with reporters present.
Furthermore, NBC News reported that sources said he took another tumble while stepping off of plane at Reagan National Airport on July 14 – although it was not serious enough to keep him away from Capitol Hill later that same day.
As an extra precautionary measure when navigating crowded airports McConnell has also recently been using wheelchair assistance as well.
McConnell returned to the chamber following his injury back in March and tweeted that he “[was] looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday” because they had “important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and American people”.
However, after recent incidents – including reports claiming that Senators John Barrasso (Wyoming), John Cornyn (Texas), and John Thune (South Dakota) were actively reaching out as part of preparation efforts for an anticipated leadership vote – it is still uncertain what kind of political future lies ahead for Mitch McConnell beyond this Congress session ending.
