Topline
New video footage obtained by CNN shows Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher the morning of June 14, adding to the mystery surrounding McConnell’s health as Republicans who claim to have spoken with him this week are widely ridiculed.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Department of Defense Budget Subcommittee at the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington, DC, May 19, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
Key facts
The footage shows a man being rolled up to an ambulance and lifted into the back of the vehicle on a stretcher as ambulances block the Washington, D.C., street where McConnell lives.
Footage taken during a 911 call to McConnell’s home does not show the man’s face, CNN reported, citing a neighbor who shot video showing the bare feet of a man lying on a stretcher covered with an orange blanket.
Another witness told a neighbor that he saw McConnell on a stretcher and not wearing an oxygen mask, according to CNN.
The video came after several Republicans said this week they had spoken with McConnell, including Sen. John Barasso, R-Wyo., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., claims that were widely ridiculed on social media amid calls for transparency about McConnell’s health.
“It really shouldn’t be difficult. You should allow the governor or the governor’s representative to visit him to see if he is still fit to represent the people of Kentucky or if they need to call a special election,” left-leaning “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough said Friday.
McConnell’s office did not provide any details about why he was hospitalized or his current condition, other than to say as recently as Tuesday, he issued the same statement to multiple media outlets, saying his health “continues to improve” and that he is “working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is not in session.”
What to pay attention to
The Senate is due to return from recess on Monday.
What we don’t know
McConnell’s replacement schedule if he resigns or is unable to continue serving. Kentucky law requires the governor to call a special election to fill a Senate vacancy, but it is unclear how that process will work so close to the general election in November to replace McConnell, who is retiring at the end of the year. The secrecy surrounding McConnell’s position has fueled speculation that Republicans are trying to keep him in office to avoid triggering a special election in which an independent candidate could run, potentially siphoning votes away from Republican Andy Barr, who is favored to win the general election. The governor must notify local officials 56 days before a special election is held, and candidates must be nominated at least 49 days before the election. Louisville Metro Council member and former state Rep. Kevin Brachter, who sponsored the 2024 legislation establishing a process for filling the vacancy, told local news station WLKY that if McConnell’s seat becomes vacant within 56 days of the Nov. 3 general election, after Sept. 8, the seat will remain vacant until the winner of the general election takes office in January. Other news outlets and politicians have suggested that the deadline to call a special election would be Aug. 3, three months before the general election.
Here’s why McConnell can keep his seat even if he can’t serve
Unlike the president, a member of Congress cannot be replaced unless he resigns, dies, or is expelled. If the president fails to perform his duties, power can be transferred to the vice president under the 25th Amendment. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, there have been two cases in which members of Congress were re-elected and then failed to show up to take the oath of office, causing their seats to be declared vacant. In 1980, Rep. Gladys Noon Spellman, D-Maryland, suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma days before the election, and in 1972, House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, D-Louisiana, went missing in a plane crash in Alaska.
Key background
McConnell was found unconscious and taken by ambulance to a local hospital on June 14, according to multiple reports. According to police radio scanner data cited by NBC News, paramedics performed CPR on a man who suffered a “cardiac arrest” that morning at McConnell’s address. A spokesman for Thune’s office told NOTUS that he spoke with McConnell on Monday and Tuesday and they “had a long and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.” Conservative commentator Scott Jennings also said he spoke with his “old friend” for “almost 20 minutes” on Tuesday about topics including Iran, Ukraine, the Maine Senate election, “and even a little bit of Senate history.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, on Wednesday called on McConnell to share an update on his health, writing in a letter that he believes the situation “requires clear communication of one’s ability to serve.”
further reading
Mitch McConnell’s health bolsters ambitious theory Thomas Massie could replace him (Forbes)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Calls on Mitch McConnell to Share Health Update (Forbes)
A longtime Kentucky commentator says he spoke to McConnell this morning – what we know about his health (Forbes)