US Senator Mitch McConnell hospitalized on Sunday morning, spokesperson says (original) (raw)
McConnell's spokesman, David Popp, did not elaborate on why the Republican lawmaker from Kentucky was hospitalized or provide an update on his condition.
US Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rides an elevator during a vote related to government funding, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, November 10, 2025.
(photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)
ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
JUNE 14, 2026 21:28
Updated: JUNE 15, 2026 08:11
US Senator Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital Sunday morning, a spokesman said in a statement.
McConnell's spokesman, David Popp, did not elaborate on why the Republican lawmaker from Kentucky was hospitalized or provide an update on his condition. He said in a statement that McConnell "is receiving excellent care."
Two of McConnell's neighbors told Reuters they saw the senator on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance around 9 a.m. ET outside his Washington, DC home.
McConnell, 84, is a former Senate majority leader who helped steer Republicans' legislation and appointees through Congress.
Regarding concerns about his health, the Kentucky senator made headlines in 2023, most notably in public press conference incidents where his face froze while he was giving statements. The Press cites McConnell's colleagues as saying that in recent months, McConnell has fully recovered.
US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) holds a news conference following a weekly policy lunch for Senate Republicans at the US Capitol last month. (credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
He was hospitalized for eight days in February after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
McConnell, who has served in the Senate since 1985, fell and suffered a concussion and a broken rib at a private dinner at a Washington hotel in early March 2023 – injuries that caused the long-tenured Republican to miss nearly six weeks of Senate action before returning in April.
McConnell lashed out at the twice-impeached Trump for falsely claiming that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election, the theme of the then-president's speech on January 6, 2021, shortly before his followers stormed the US Capitol. The Senate leader had voted to acquit Trump of having incited an insurrection but alienated him in a Senate speech by asserting that he was "practically and morally responsible" for the Capitol riot.
He gleefully embraced the nickname "Grim Reaper" for his willingness to stonewall Democratic goals.
McConnell has been a staunch ally of Israel
McConnell is a strong supporter of Israel. In 2024 he delivered a speech on the Senate floor, calling on then President Biden to keepp the most radical left voices within his party out of the decision rooms.
"A few days ago, we saw reports that the President was delaying weapons shipments to Israel, creating daylight between America and a close ally," said McConnell.
“As it turns out, these reports were true. And the decision to pause these shipments was withheld from Congress – we still don’t know key facts. I speak with some experience in the difficulties of standing up to extreme elements of one’s own political party, but the President’s apparent inability to keep the most radical voices on his left flank out of the Situation Room isn’t just a shameful abdication of leadership – it’s dangerous."
Although McConnell played a key role during Trump's first term, he no longer holds a leadership position in the Senate, and has maintained a low profile during Trump's second term.
In February of last year, McConnell announced he won’t be seeking reelection in 2026 but that he intends to serve the remainder of his term ending in January 2027.