Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing calls to resign due to concerns about his health, with several Republican figures, including Donald Trump loyalists, urging him to step down.
The calls for resignation come after McConnell, who is 81 years old, suddenly froze and stopped talking for a few seconds. He was then escorted away by fellow Republicans.
BREAKING: Mitch McConnell has cognitive malfunction at podium
Has to be escorted away by fellow Senators
This man has clear cognitive impairments after sustaining serious head trauma from his fall a few months ago
It is clear that he should resign pic.twitter.com/iLNJvCRmx7
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 26, 2023
The incident has raised questions about McConnell’s condition, especially given his history of health concerns. In March, he suffered a concussion after a fall at a hotel in D.C. and returned to the press conference a few minutes after the incident, assuring reporters that he was “fine.” He mentioned that President Joe Biden had called to check up on him, to which he jokingly responded that he got “sandbagged,” referring to Biden’s own stumble during a graduation ceremony.
The incident has reignited the debate about the cognitive abilities of elected officials, and numerous GOP figures are now calling for McConnell’s resignation, citing concerns about his cognitive impairments following the head trauma from the fall a few months ago.
Others in the Republican camp also raised concerns about the stamina and health of elected leaders, listing other politicians like Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, and John Fetterman, whose age and health have been subject to scrutiny.
McConnell, the longest-serving leader in Senate history, dismissed a question about who should replace him, and some Republican senators have expressed support for him despite the incident. However, the calls for his resignation persist as the debate over the health and cognitive abilities of elected officials continues to be a topic of discussion in American politics.