For the second time in just over a month, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, froze at a news conference Wednesday, raising concerns about his health and ability to serve his term, which ends in January 2027, was enlarged.
At an event hosted by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 81-year-old Mr. McConnell, who was elected to his seventh term in 2020, spent about 30 seconds responding to a reporter’s question about his re-election plans.
The abrupt spell — like the one in the U.S. Capitol in July — happened in front of the cameras. In March he suffered a concussion from a fall. He suffered at least two other falls that were not disclosed by his office.
Mr McConnell has brushed off previous questions about his health, but speculation has returned to what would happen in the unlikely event that he were to retire mid-term.
How would the vacancy be filled?
For decades, in Kentucky, the power to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate was reserved solely for the governor, regardless of whether a sitting president resigned, died in office, or was expelled from Congress.
But with Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, holding the state’s highest office, Republican lawmakers used their supermajority in the legislature to change the state law in 2021.
Under the new law, a state executive committee composed of members of the same political party as the outgoing incumbent senator will nominate three candidates from which the governor may choose to fill the vacancy on a temporary basis. A special election would then be held, and its timing would depend on when the vacancy arises.
At the time Republican lawmakers passed the change, Mr. McConnell supported the measure. Mr Beshear, who is up for re-election in November, vetoed the bill but was overruled by the legislature.
Who could follow McConnell in the Senate?
In a state handily won by former President Donald J. Trump, several Republicans could be in the mix if Mr. McConnell, the longest-serving leader in the Senate, steps down.
But replacing him with a staunch ally of the former president could confuse Mr McConnell, who has become a fairly harsh, if cautious, critic of Mr Trump following the former president’s attempts to win the 2020 election. undo and after the election of January 6, 2021. , attack on the US Capitol.
One name to watch could be Daniel Cameron, the state’s attorney general, who is challenging Mr. Beshear in the governor’s race and is sometimes considered an heir to Mr. McConnell.
Should he lose his bid for governor — which received early backing from Mr. Trump — talk of succession could be inevitable, despite his connection to the former president.
Ryan Quarles, the beloved Agriculture Commissioner, could also be a contender. He lost this year’s primary to Mr Cameron in the race for governor.
Kelly Craft, a former UN ambassador under Trump who came third in that primary, has the political connections to seemingly be part of the conversation. She is married to a coal industry billionaire, who spent millions on advertising for her primary campaign.
And then there’s Representative Andy Barr, who draws comparisons to Mr. McConnell, but voted against impeaching Mr. Trump after the Capitol riot.
What have McConnell and his aides said about his health?
Both times Mr McConnell froze in front of the cameras, his aides said he felt lightheaded.
But his office has shared few details about what caused the episodes or about his overall health. He missed the Senate for several weeks this year as he recovered from the March concussion that required him to be hospitalized.
Mr McConnell, who had polio as a child, has repeatedly played down concerns about his health and sometimes frail appearance.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told reporters earlier this year.
How is Congress dealing with the health concerns of other legislators?
For the current Congress, the median age in the Senate is 64, the second oldest in history, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who, at 90, is the oldest member of the chamber, has struggled with health issues this year, fueling calls for her resignation.
In February, she was hospitalized with a severe case of shingles, which caused encephalitis and other complications that were not made public. She did not return to the Senate until May, when she appeared weaker than ever and disoriented.
This month, she was hospitalized after a fall at her San Francisco home.
Longtime senators aren’t the only ones in the House struggling with health issues.
John Fetterman, a Democrat who was lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, suffered a near-fatal stroke last May and went on to win one of the most competitive Senate seats in the November midterm elections.
Nick Corasaniti And Annie Karni reporting contributed.