Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has given Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) an ultimatum: He must prove he is still fit to serve in the Senate or resign.
“As governor of the state you serve, I ask you to provide evidence of your ability to directly orally address, serve, or govern the people of Kentuckians,” Beshear wrote.
Failing that, the Democratic governor said he would ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to “investigate” McConnell’s status and “initiate the process, if warranted,” to remove him from the Senate. Beshear wrote another letter to Thune outlining similar demands.
Beshear’s letter came after McConnell was hospitalized in Washington on June 14 and has not been seen in public since. McConnell’s office released two photos and a statement saying he suffered a fall amid public pressure for transparency and conspiracy theories about the nature of his condition.
“It has been 43 days since the news of your hospitalization,” Beshear wrote to McConnell. “During that time, you have received zero votes, engaged in no official activity, and made no effort to communicate with the voters or public of Kentucky other than two photographs and corresponding statements. Even your doctor’s written statement does not address your actual condition, including whether you are able to speak, reason, or perform your duties as a senator.”
Mr. McConnell’s office declined to comment on Mr. Beshear’s letter.
Asked to comment on Beshear’s call to investigate McConnell’s condition, Thune said Tuesday that it’s not an issue for him to solve.
“I saw that letter, and I think it’s really an issue between Sen. McConnell and the people of Kentuckianship anyway,” Thune told NBC News. “So if the governor wants to, I don’t know what the governor’s prerogatives are in that case, but the issue should be resolved there.”
Beshear, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, released the letter as McConnell faces calls from the left and right for a more aggressive stance. He is not the first senator to face being absent from the Senate for health reasons, and Congress has no transparency rules for members in that position.
“We’ve seen rampant speculation on social media and elsewhere, but it’s all completely avoidable and it’s all within Sen. McConnell’s power,” Beshear told reporters on Tuesday. “But he doesn’t do that, so we don’t really know.”
“I hope all is well and that he is capable of the task, but asking someone to prove that to the voters is not a big deal, it’s not a heavy lifting,” he added. “It’s not invasive. You’re one of two U.S. senators who are supposed to represent Kentucky in Washington. Just talk to people.”
In most states, the governor appoints a new senator when a vacancy occurs in the state’s seat, but in Kentucky, state law requires a special election to be held instead.
McConnell has already announced his intention to retire at the end of his current term, which expires at the end of 2026. Congressman Andy Barr won the Republican primary to replace him earlier this year and is expected to win in the red state.
