{"id":24546,"date":"2026-08-01T21:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24546"},"modified":"2026-08-01T21:24:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:24:02","slug":"senator-predicts-mcconnell-will-be-back-as-deadline-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24546","title":{"rendered":"Senator Predicts McConnell Will &#8216;Be Back&#8217; as Deadline Looms"},"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 id=\"post-body\">\n<div id=\"attachment_5741119\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5741119\" class=\"wp-image-5741119 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/am11.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386.jpg\" alt=\"Mitch McConnell gripping the back of a chair\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/am12.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/am12.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/am12.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/am12.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5741119\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">J. Scott Applewhite\/AP Photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sen. <strong>Mitch McConnell<\/strong> (R-KY) recently updated his Congressional colleagues on his health, according to one who said he believed the longtime Kentucky politician will come back to work on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n<p>The confident prediction from Sen.<strong> Roger Marshall<\/strong> (R-KS) comes just days before an Aug. 3 deadline for Kentucky Gov. <strong>Andy Beshear<\/strong> (D) to call a special election to fill McConnell\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n<p>Marshall and Sen. <strong>Joni Ernst<\/strong> (R-IA) told independent journalist <strong>Nicholas Ballasy<\/strong> McConnell had reached out to his colleagues recently, with Ernst pointing to a letter the 84-year-old sent to the Senate physician.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s unclear what the letter said, Marshall said of McConnell: \u201cHe\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"cfd9f924507b70d4c1522af23ffa40e9\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GOP Sen. Joni Ernst says Sen. Mitch McConnell has put out enough information about his health during his absence and doesn\u2019t need to release a video. GOP Sen. Roger Marshall made similar comments <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4q97nxiOmK\">pic.twitter.com\/4q97nxiOmK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nicholas A Ballasy (@NicholasBallasy) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NicholasBallasy\/status\/2083423829129359794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ernst <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NicholasBallasy\/status\/2083423829129359794\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told Ballasy<\/a> that McConnell \u201cput out a letter the other day with the Senate\u2019s physician and I think that suffices,\u201d adding \u201cif the people of Kentucky want more they\u2019ll ask him for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ballasy asked Marshall if McConnell should issue a video showing his current health, and Marshall said he respects McConnell\u2019s privacy, calling him \u201cone of the toughest guys I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s making progress,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell was<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/shock-report-says-mitch-mcconnell-was-found-unconscious-after-possible-heart-attack-last-month\/\"> found unconscious <\/a>in his Washington on June 14, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/cnn-shows-new-images-of-mitch-mcconnell-being-loaded-into-ambulance\/\">taken to a hospital via ambulance.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>His absence even led to fake missing person posters with the senator\u2019s photo, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/mitch-mcconnell-missing-person-posters-pop-up-in-d-c-seek-whereabouts-of-turtle-like-senator\/\">described him as \u201cturtle-like.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>McConnell\u2019s health scare has caused a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/where-is-he-mitch-mcconnell-speculation-ramps-up-to-11-after-trump-pal-laura-loomer-floats-rumor-that-hes-brain-dead\/\">firestorm of speculation<\/a>, with <strong>Laura Loomer<\/strong> claiming on X that McConnell was actually brain dead and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/newsmax-hosts-slam-republicans-on-mitch-mcconnell-health-scare-bullsht\/\">Newsmax hosts <strong>Rob Finnerty<\/strong> and <strong>Carl Higbie<\/strong> crying foul<\/a> over silence from McConnell\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>While some in the GOP claimed to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/cnn-anchor-asks-scott-jennings-for-a-mitch-mcconnell-health-update-have-you-had-another-phone-call\/\">spoken to McConnell on the phone<\/a>, and his office eventually released <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/mitch-mcconnell-shown-in-another-proof-of-life-photo-as-questions-about-senators-health-looms\/\">two separate photos of the senator<\/a> with wife <strong>Elaine Chao<\/strong>, he\u2019s faced repeated calls for transparency.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/beshear-slaps-mitch-mcconnell-with-ultimatum-as-questions-about-his-health-linger-speak-up-or-resign\/\">Beshear\u00a0<\/a> has made numerous calls for McConnell to account to Kentucky\u2019s voters, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courier-journal.com\/story\/News\/politics\/andy-beshear\/2026\/07\/16\/andy-beshear-says-he-received-calls-about-mitch-mcconnells-health\/90946438007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claimed earlier this month<\/a> that at one point, he\u2019d gotten two calls suggesting McConnell was actually dead.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>New: The Mediaite One-Sheet &#8220;Newsletter of Newsletters&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/subscribe\">Subscribe now!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J. Scott Applewhite\/AP Photo Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently updated his Congressional colleagues on his health, according to one who said he believed the longtime Kentucky politician will come back to work on Capitol Hill. The confident prediction from Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) comes just days before an Aug. 3 deadline for Kentucky Gov. Andy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26166621514386.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24546","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=24546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}