Key takeaways:
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke with McConnell on Monday, and Sen. John Barrasso spoke with him Tuesday for about 20 minutes, their offices said.
- McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14, and his staff has not provided details about the reason for his admission.
- CBS News reported an EMS dispatch call from McConnell’s address on June 14 referenced a cardiac arrest, CPR in progress and an unconscious person, but the senator was not named in the call.
Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday they have spoken by phone with Sen. Mitch McConnell as questions continue about the Kentucky Republican’s health during a hospitalization that has lasted for weeks.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the South Dakota Republican spoke with McConnell on Monday and “had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, spoke with McConnell by phone Tuesday afternoon for about 20 minutes, a spokeswoman said.
“Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate,” Barrasso spokeswoman Kate Noyes said in a statement.
McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14, his office has said. His staff has not provided details about why he was admitted.
CBS News reported last week that emergency medical personnel responded to an unconscious person at McConnell’s home on June 14, the same day his office said he was hospitalized, according to a public EMS dispatch call reviewed by the outlet. During the call, a dispatcher called in a “cardiac arrest,” and a medic said there was “CPR in progress” at McConnell’s address. The dispatcher also said an individual was “unconscious.”
McConnell’s name is not mentioned during the EMS call, and CBS News reported it has not confirmed the identity of the unconscious person. His staff has not confirmed that the dispatch call involved the senator.
McConnell’s office last issued a public statement on July 2, saying he remained in the hospital.
“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” the statement said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Thune also said last month that he had spoken with McConnell after the hospitalization began. On June 15, Thune told reporters that McConnell “sounded good” and “wants to be back.” The next day, Thune told Fox News that McConnell “was in good spirits” and had indicated “he’d be back soon.”
NBC News reported that top Senate Republican leaders and a former McConnell adviser said they had spoken with him by phone in the past two days as speculation about his health continued.
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