{"id":20397,"date":"2026-07-29T00:29:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20397"},"modified":"2026-07-29T00:29:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:29:30","slug":"kentucky-governor-tells-mitch-mcconnell-to-prove-he-can-serve-or-resign-from-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=20397","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky governor tells Mitch McConnell to prove he can serve or \u2018resign\u2019 from Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-85c901\" class=\"body-graf\">Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is giving Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., an ultimatum, demanding that he prove he\u2019s still capable of serving in the U.S. Senate \u2014 or resign.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-d46427\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cAs 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,\u201d Beshear wrote.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-376a73\" class=\"body-graf\">Failing that, the Democratic governor said he\u2019ll call on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to \u201cinvestigate\u201d McConnell\u2019s condition and \u201cbegin the process if warranted\u201d of replacing him in the Senate. Beshear wrote a separate letter to Thune outlining the same demand.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-01abc3\" class=\"body-graf\">The letter from Beshear comes after McConnell was hospitalized in Washington on June 14 and hasn\u2019t been seen in public since. McConnell\u2019s office has released two photos and written statements saying he suffered a fall, amid public pressure to be transparent and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/conspiracy-theories-sen-mcconnells-health-spread-office-posts-hospital-rcna587333\" target=\"_blank\">conspiracy theories<\/a> about the nature of his condition condition.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-a1d88c\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cIt has now been 43 days since news of your hospitalization,\u201d Beshear wrote to McConnell. \u201cDuring that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two photos and corresponding statements, have made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation. Even the attending physician\u2019s written statement does not discuss your actual condition, including whether you can speak, reason, or carry out your duties as a senator.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-a7c907\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"1666\" data-original-width=\"2500\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260728-Beshear-ch-1221-028b0a.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260728-Beshear-ch-1221-028b0a.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260728-Beshear-ch-1221-028b0a.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260728-Beshear-ch-1221-028b0a.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260728-Beshear-ch-1221-028b0a.jpg\" alt=\"Andy Beshear.\" height=\"1666\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 7,.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">KC McGinnis \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-898b41\" class=\"body-graf\">McConnell\u2019s office declined to comment on Beshear\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-34e736\" class=\"body-graf\">Asked to comment on Beshear\u2019s calls to investigate McConnell\u2019s condition, Thune said Tuesday that it\u2019s not his issue to resolve.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-6bd465\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI\u2019ve seen that letter, but in any event, I think that\u2019s an issue really that\u2019s between Senator McConnell and the people of Kentucky,\u201d Thune told NBC News. \u201cI mean, if the governor wants to, I\u2019m not sure what his prerogatives are in that case. But that\u2019s where the issue should be resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-6971cd\" class=\"body-graf\">Beshear, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, issued his letter as McConnell has faced calls from the left and right to be more forthcoming. He isn\u2019t the first senator to face a health-related absence from the Senate, and the chamber doesn\u2019t have transparency rules for members in that position.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-1d9667\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe have seen rampant speculation across social media and elsewhere, it could all be fully avoided, and it\u2019s all within Senator McConnell\u2019s power,\u201d Beshear told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cBut because he won\u2019t do that, the fact is that we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7535f7\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI hope everything\u2019s okay, that he\u2019s competent to serve, but asking someone to prove that to their constituents isn\u2019t a big or a heavy lift,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s not being invasive. You\u2019re one of two U.S. senators that are supposed to represent Kentucky in Washington. Just talk to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-04a8e1\" class=\"body-graf\">In most states, governors appoint a new senator when one of the seats in their state is vacant, but not in Kentucky, where state law specifies that a special election must be held instead.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-5fe9a6\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">McConnell has already announced his intention to retire at the end of his current term, which expires at the end of 2026. Rep. Andy Barr won the Republican primary to succeed him earlier this year and is favored to win in the red state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is giving Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., an ultimatum, demanding that he prove he\u2019s still capable of serving in the U.S. Senate \u2014 or resign. \u201cAs 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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260706-Mitch-McConnell-ac-1259p-7476ff.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}