Beshear: KY deserves ‘to see a little bit more and hear a little bit more’ from McConnell
If Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell vacates his seat before his term ends, Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says "there’s probably going to be a little disagreement” over how to fill it.
And on Tuesday, Beshear said the senator should provide a video or call in to a television station to dispel continued speculation about his health condition.
Speaking to Rev. Al Sharpton on MS NOW Sunday, Beshear said Kentucky’s law on how to handle a vacancy is “possibly a contested question, so we might make some news right here, Reverend.”
“Our Republican supermajority has been so worried about me being able to support someone before a special election potentially that they passed not one but two laws,” the governor continued. “They tried at first to say that they’d submit a list of three people to me from the Republican Party, and I’d have to pick.
“Now, they say I can’t fill a vacancy, but I have to call a special election. But here’s the thing. There is a Kentucky constitutional provision that says that I appoint all state officers when there’s a vacancy. The question is, does that apply to federal offices? Well, before there was ever a law in Kentucky on how this would work, multiple appointments were made by governors, assumably ... under that provision.”
The legislature passed the bill requiring a special election in 2024.
When Sharpton asked Beshear if he would make an appointment to the seat, if it became vacant, based on his reading of the constitution, Beshear responded: “Certainly, my hope is that Sen. McConnell will provide us the assurances that we need, but if he is incapacitated, if there is a vacancy, I will look at my authority as governor to make sure that we are represented as Kentuckians, and certainly I’ll take a strong look at that section of our Kentucky constitution.”
Beshear’s comments came before McConnell shared a statement and a photo of himself with is wife, Elaine Chao, on Sunday evening.
In that statement, McConnell indicated he would not be vacating his Senate seat prior to the end of his term in January.
McConnell’s health and the future of his Senate seat have been the subject of much speculation since he was hospitalized June 14.
Beshear urges McConnell to share video or call in to a TV station
In a letter sent to McConnell’s office last week, Beshear had called on the seven-term senator to update constituents on his condition.
Beshear reiterated his desire for more information in comments Tuesday afternoon, saying citizens “just deserve to see a little bit more and hear a little bit more about how the senator is doing.”
The governor likened the situation to that of an employee who had been in the hospital for a month needing to communicate with their employer.
“They’d have to call their boss at work and explain what’s going on,” Beshear said. “I think there’s some elected officials who don’t view themselves as having a boss. We do. In this sense, it’s the people of Kentucky.”
Beshear said “there’s been a ton” of speculation about McConnell’s condition, and “the fastest way to end all of it is calling into a news station if you’re otherwise taking calls, putting out a video or two, which all of us do while in office.”
Beshear said he wishes McConnell a speedy recovery and is “not wishing the senator any ill will.”
McConnell’s statement
In the written statement shared on social media Sunday, McConnell, 84, said he ended up in the hospital last month after a fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and then developed “a mild case of pneumonia.”
He said he, like many of his generation, is hesitant to share “the vulnerability that comes with growing older.”
“But at the same time, I’ve had more than my share of experience with physical vulnerabilities. Surviving childhood polio meant spending my entire life with mobility challenges. They haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age,” McConnell said in the statement.
He said he’s moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation center and is intent on getting back to the Senate floor.
In the meantime, he said he’s “been working closely with my legislative staff on current issues, and with my Kentucky team who help me provide timely constituent services across our Commonwealth.”
“You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work,” McConnell said. “But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.”
Late night comedians joke about, criticize McConnell after statement
McConnell’s statement and the accompanying photo quickly became the subject of late-night comedy.
Regarding McConnell’s statement about “finishing the job,” The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart responded, “Don’t! Don’t finish it. We’re fine.”
He said the photo was “totally believable evidence that Mitch McConnell is not only alive, but the happiest boy in the hospital.”
Ike Barinholtz, guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live, riffed on the situation as well, commenting “I hope you get the quality healthcare you fought to deny everyone else.”
“What a crazy weekend. Mitch McConnell’s alive. Lindsey Graham is dead. There’s so many opportunities to get Jimmy’s show pulled off the air again,” Barinholtz said.
While the veracity of the photo of McConnell and Chao was questioned widely, multiple media outlets debunked claims that the photo was old or had been created using AI.
The Washington Post, whose Sunday sports section was in McConnell’s hand in the photograph, reported that the senator’s office provided them with the original photo, and metadata indicated it was taken Sunday.
