Mitch McConnell’s fall this week in the U.S. Capitol — his fourth public health episode in the past 21 months — is spurring fresh calls from Republicans for his resignation and underscores the fragility of what’s expected to be his final two legacy-affirming years in the U.S. Senate.
Three days after advocating for American military supremacy in a speech at the Ronald Reagan library, the outgoing GOP leader faced a new round of cries for his immediate ouster due to his own personal infirmity. The 82-year-old suffered a sprained wrist and a cut to the face after falling Tuesday afternoon.
Pictures of McConnell with a bandage under his left eye and a medical brace on his left hand churned around the internet through Wednesday evening.
And President-elect Donald Trump’s allies showed no mercy toward their longtime nemesis, who they see as a relic from a pre-Trump Republican Party far past his prime.
“This guy needs to get out of the Senate,” posted Ryan Fournier, the chair of Students for Trump.
“It’s time for Mitch McConnell to retire. Enough is enough,” added Gunther Eagelman, a MAGA influencer from Texas.
Even Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who became a political activist after protesting the presence of transgender athletes in women’s sports said, “Just as Biden needed to step aside, Mitch McConnell should do the same. Kentucky deserves better.”
McConnell has said he plans to finish his six-year term, which expires in early 2027. While he has not formally announced his decision about a reelection campaign, a political aide told the Herald-Leader in March he would not run for an eighth term in 2026 when he would be 84. A spokesperson in McConnell’s Senate office declined to elaborate on McConnell’s political plans at the time.
No single person, no matter how wide or deep their MAGA influence, can push McConnell from his beloved Senate.
But he’s already on the cusp of handing over a copious amount of power.
In less than a month, he’ll no longer be in Senate leadership and his fractured relationship with the incoming president will likely relegate him to the periphery of debates around legislation and political strategy.
Still, he’s made clear he’ll dedicate his time as a rank and file member pressing for a robust U.S. foreign policy to ensure national security at home.
Arguably, the biggest threat to McConnell’s final run in the Senate is not his critics, but his health.
A “violent” and “concussive” fall in March 2023 caused bleeding to the back of McConnell’s head, a loss of consciousness and a cracked rib, according to a biography of the Kentuckian published in October.
At a press conference on July 26, 2023, a freezing episode before cameras had some McConnell aides wondering if their boss might die.
A month later it happened again, igniting widespread speculation that McConnell’s health was in severe decline.
In his interview with the author Michael Tackett, McConnell complained that his health troubles were being lumped in with Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who at age 90 died in the Senate, as well as President Biden’s lagging capacity due to his age.
“I am thrown into the mix with them?” McConnell asked Tackett. “Really? There’s no evidence of that.”
But after Tuesday’s incident, McConnell’s critics saw it exactly the opposite.
“How are the same people who were screaming for Joe Biden to step aside not also demanding McConnell step down from the Senate?” asked Mehdi Hasan, the progressive commentator and former MSNBC host, on X.
___
© 2024 McClatchy Washington Bureau
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC