Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Sen. Mitch McConnell should resign if he can’t “directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky” with “proof of your capacity to serve,” escalating pressure on the former Republican Senate leader as he continues to recover from a fall that left him hospitalized well over a month ago.
“During that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two photos and corresponding statements, have made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation,” Beshear wrote Monday in a letter addressed to McConnell, 84, and his staff.
The seven-term senator, who will retire in January, said in a July 12 statement to constituents he plans to return to the Senate. He also shared that he has dealt with a “mild case of pneumonia” while in the hospital.
McConnell has “maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls,” his physician shared in a press release Monday.
In early July, Beshear alsoasked the senator to “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” writing that the state’s residents had grown “increasingly concerned.”
On Monday, he raised the stakes, urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune to investigate McConnell’s condition if “you are unwilling to voluntarily show that you still have the capacity to serve.”
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