Andy Beshear Gives Mitch McConnell Ultimatum: Show Health Receipts Or Resign

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear demanded Monday that Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell prove he is capable of serving or resign.

In a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Beshear requested that McConnell be transparent with the public after he missed 38 consecutive votes during his hospitalization and rehabilitation. The governor said he will ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune to investigate McConnell’s condition and possibly vote to expel him.

“As Governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign,” Beshear wrote. “I am further sending this letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Per our research, a vacancy in the Senate occurs when a senator dies, resigns, or is expelled by a vote of the Senate itself. If you are unwilling to voluntarily show that you still have the capacity to serve, I will insist Leader Thune fully investigate your condition, report it to the American people, and begin the process if warranted.”

“All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency,” Beshear continued.

Beshear argued that McConnell cannot be a fully private person while he serves in public office.

“I understand anyone’s desire for privacy, but when you run for office and serve as one of the state’s two U.S. senators, you willingly abdicate much of your personal privacy. That’s the deal, and we all know it when we run,” Beshear said.

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14 after being found unconscious at his Washington, D.C., residence. A dispatch call from that date showed paramedics appearing to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for a “cardiac arrest.”

McConnell’s office released a few photographs of McConnell in the hospital and assured the public he was recovering well, through they remained silent about his condition. His office released a statement attributed to McConnell on July 12 saying he suffered a fall and contracted pneumonia in the hospital.

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke,” the statement said. “I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.”

Thune, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso and CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings claimed they spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes over the phone about a variety of issues, which McConnell’s office later released in a email obtained by the DCNF.

The DCNF requested a video interview with McConnell on July 8, which the office said they would keep “on hand.” A video interview has yet to be scheduled.

McConnell’s staff released a statement Monday from the senator and the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP). McConnell said he had to miss the Fancy Farm picnic (a Kentucky tradition he first attended 42 years ago) during his recovery, while the OAP said McConnell was not “medically cleared” to return to work as he underwent a “strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation.”

The 84-year-old senator spent several days in the intensive care unit (ICU) between Feb. 2 and Feb. 10 while suffering from flu-like symptoms. Staffers were frequently seen assisting McConnell while walking around Capitol Hill.

The former majority leader suffered several falls and experienced two on-camera freezing episodes in July 2023.

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