McConnell tried to quell health concerns with 'a private presentation' — but 'lingering questions' remain

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his allies rushed to quell concerns about the Senate minority leader’s health after he “froze up on camera for a second time” in just over a month in late August, Politico reports.

Some of McConnell’s efforts, according to the report, included “releasing a doctor’s letter that ruled out graver diagnoses and delivering a private presentation to his members on his health.”

But, per Politico, “lingering questions” remain as Republican members “openly [ponder] life, eventually, without the stoic Kentuckian in charge.”

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McConnell’s latest health problems stem from a “fall and concussion” in March that “knocked him out of the Senate for a few weeks,” Politico reports. And while McConnell initially rallied supporters in the Senate with his signature dry wit, he “ultimately had to get more personal with his members to quell a possible political threat stemming from his freeze-ups, releasing a doctor’s letter that ruled out graver diagnoses and delivering a private presentation to his members on his health.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) acknowledged “an effort on the part of some” to replace McConnell as minority leader.

“I think he wisely recognized that any opportunity would present a window for them to try it again,” Romney told Politico.

For his part, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who ran against McConnell last year for Senate GOP leader, told Politico he has no plans to take on the Kentucky senator in the future.

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“We had a race, and he won,” Scott said.

Read the full report at Politico.