{"id":5946,"date":"2026-07-14T14:04:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5946"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:04:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:04:01","slug":"massie-says-gop-should-have-calls-with-mcconnell-publicly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5946","title":{"rendered":"Massie Says GOP Should Have Calls with McConnell &#8216;Publicly&#8217;"},"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_5727823\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5727823\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5727823\" src=\"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-1200x802.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-1200x802.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266.jpg 1904w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5727823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rep.\u00a0<strong>Thomas Massie\u00a0<\/strong>(R-KY) called out the \u201920-minute\u2019 phone conversations Republicans\u00a0have held with Sen. <strong>Mitch McConnell<\/strong> (R-KY) and said those calls should be taken publicly.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell, 84, was reportedly transported to the hospital via ambulance on June 14 after paramedics arrived at his home to assist someone unconscious from cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n<p>While McConnell released a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/just-in-sen-mitch-mcconnell-shares-health-update-with-new-hospital-photo\/\">statement<\/a> on Sunday in which he claims he was hospitalized due to a fall that rendered him \u201cbriefly unconscious,\u201d he said he did not break any bones, have a concussion, tumors, hemorrhages, nor endured a heart attack or stroke. He also included a photograph from a hospital bed with his wife <strong>Elaine Chao<\/strong> sitting beside him. Some social media users and members of the press have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/tv\/gop-senator-casts-doubt-on-mitch-mcconnells-health-i-just-heard-from-a-source\/\">questioned<\/a> the photo\u2019s authenticity.<\/p>\n<p>Since McConnell\u2019s hospitalization, a striking number of senior Republican figures and pundits have claimed they spoke to McConnell in nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/tv\/joe-scarborough-baffled-how-every-republican-each-had-a-20-minute-call-with-mitch-mcconnell\/\">20-minute<\/a> phone calls.<\/p>\n<div data-google-query-id=\"CM3ypoiU0ZUDFc4tdgYdeK07PQ\">\u201cI spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,\u201d Conservative CNN pundit\u00a0<strong>Scott Jennings<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ScottJenningsKY\/status\/2074537046752845872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2074537046752845872%7Ctwgr%5E533161fed55f711a1b2db38f706ee135063bcde1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fmedia%2Ftv%2Fjoe-scarborough-baffled-how-every-republican-each-had-a-20-minute-call-with-mitch-mcconnell%2F\">wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cHe\u2019s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes \u2026 about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.\u201d<\/div>\n<p><em>Politico<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2026\/07\/07\/congress\/mitch-mcconnell-health-thune-barrasso-00988874\">reported<\/a> that Senate Majority Leader<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>John Thune\u00a0<\/strong>and Senate Majority Whip\u00a0<strong>John Barrasso\u00a0<\/strong>also spoke with McConnell for a similar, nearly 20-minute stretch.<\/p>\n<p>Amid all the 20-minute call claims, Massie <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepThomasMassie\/status\/2074629288544854434\">took to X<\/a> to crack a joke: \u201cI spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning. He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he\u2019s really sorry about how my primary turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued the joke on Monday when Congressional reporter\u00a0<strong>Pablo Manr\u00edquez\u00a0<\/strong>asked him if he was convinced by McConnell\u2019s photo.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"23e537b8a46dab75315dd75f88bf38b8\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Massie: I had a nearly 20-minute conversation with Senator McConnell. And he said we should stop spying on Americans, quit bankrupting the country, and stop starting these new wars. And he expressed his sadness that I lost my primary.<\/p>\n<p>But it appears that a lot of people had\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T1rD97Qxsn\">pic.twitter.com\/T1rD97Qxsn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2076843032323011031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWell, you know I had a 20-minute conversation, nearly 20 minutes, with Senator McConnell,\u201d Massie said. \u201cAnd he said we should stop spying on Americans, quit bankrupting the country, and stop starting these new wars. And he expressed his sadness that I lost my primary.<\/p>\n<p>Massie pointed out the coincidence of this plethora of timed conversations with McConnell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it appears that a lot of people had those 20-minute conversations,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just need to start having them publicly.\u201d<\/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>AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster Rep.\u00a0Thomas Massie\u00a0(R-KY) called out the \u201920-minute\u2019 phone conversations Republicans\u00a0have held with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and said those calls should be taken publicly. McConnell, 84, was reportedly transported to the hospital via ambulance on June 14 after paramedics arrived at his home to assist someone unconscious from cardiac arrest. While McConnell released&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26140042145266.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5946","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\/5946","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=5946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}