On Sunday, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was urgently taken to the hospital due to an unspecified “mystery ailment.” Currently, the details of his condition remain unclear.
These health episodes may simply reflect the realities of aging. The founding fathers who drafted the Constitution likely didn’t anticipate Senators serving until their ages are comparable to geological eras, yet that appears to be today’s reality. Although Senator McConnell has stated he will not run for re-election and plans to retire in January 2027 at the end of his current term, recent events raise questions about whether it might be prudent for him to consider stepping down sooner.
“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” a spokesperson for McConnell told The Post.
McConnell’s spokesperson declined to give more details about the senator’s hospitalization.
The 84-year-old former Senate GOP leader has long suffered from a string of health-related issues even as he has continued to ask sharp questions during committee hearings as he serves out the remainder of his seventh term.
The Kentucky Republican was previously hospitalized in February with flu-like symptoms.
These may very well all be nothing more than signs of advanced age. The brilliant men who penned our Constitution likely didn’t envision a Senator staying in office until his age can be measured in geological eons, but that seems to be where we are now. Senator McConnell has announced he is not seeking another term and will be stepping down in January of 2027 when his current term ends, but this makes one wonder if he might not be well-advised to step down sooner.