Mitch McConnell's Freeze Raises Questions About His Handlers

Questions have been raised about the actions of Mitch McConnell's handlers after the Senate Minority Leader returned to a press conference moments after appearing to suffer a medical episode.

McConnell, 81, sparked concerns about his health after he froze mid-sentence and appeared disorientated for several seconds while speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. McConnell was then taken away by his aides and fellow Republicans before returning minutes later to finish the press conference.

There have been questions from social media users and medical experts about whether McConnell's handlers made the right call in allowing the Kentucky senator to return the press conference, rather than seek medical attention. It's unknown if McConnell was looked at by a doctor who cleared him to continue the press conference. Newsweek has contacted McConnell's office for comment.

Despite the doubts raised by some about how the situation was handled, Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, suggested that it may have been a "wise move" that McConnell was allowed to return to the press conference.

"If McConnell had left the stage and no one had heard from him for a longer period of time, the speculations we're hearing now would have been even more rampant," Voss told Newsweek.

The incident reignited the debate about term limits for elected officials over concerns about elderly lawmaker's cognitive abilities, with McConnell also facing calls to resign.

On Thursday, California Senator Diane Feinstein, 90, who previously faced calls to leave office because of concerns about her frail health and ability to act in her role, had to be told by an aide to "just say aye" when she started delivering a speech instead of voting during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

David B. Cohen, professor of political science at the University of Akron in Ohio, told Newsweek that an early departure from office by McConnell would be a "huge blow" to Republicans in the Senate.

"Though he is a polarizing figure, McConnell is perhaps the most talented Senate leader of the last several decades—able to hold his party together through very challenging times," Cohen said.

"If he steps down, a very ugly internal battle will undoubtedly ensue between MAGA forces and the establishment wing of Senate Republicans and it's unclear who would come out on top. His institutional knowledge and leadership ability would be sorely missed by Senate Republicans, regardless of who replaces him."

McConnell insisted he was "fine" after he returned to the press conference on Wednesday, and made a lighthearted remark that he "got sandbagged," in reference to President Joe Biden's explanation of why he fell on stage at a graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs in June.

McConnell arrived to work at the Capitol on Thursday without any apparent issues.

Bernard Ashby, a professor of medicine at the University of Miami and a vascular cardiologist, said that McConnell's handlers should not have allowed the senator to return in front of the press following Wednesday's incident.

"When you see something like that, which is essentially a neurological event—we don't know what it was, but his brain malfunctioned—you always assume the worst, not because that's the most likely cause, but you want to address the things that are the most immediate threat to your health and you," Ashby told the health-oriented website Stat.

"That he came back out and spoke after having a neurological event, at the minimum did not seem like a good idea," Ashby added. "You don't want to waste any time given the possibility that whatever happened could happen again."

There was condemnation from Twitter users regarding the actions of McConnell's handlers.

"At the very least it looked like Mitch McConnell was having a petit mal [seizure]. Considering his age, possibly something much worse," one Twitter user wrote. "He said he's ok; and apparently that was good enough for his handlers. The guy should have been taken to the ER immediately."

A second added: "I dislike Mitch McConnell's politics tremendously—but I do hope his loved ones forced him to have a full medical evaluation last night, since his handlers clearly didn't give a s*** yesterday."

The questions about McConnell's future could also have an impact in the future of the Republican Party overall.

The veteran senator, the longest-serving leader in Senate history, is both seen as highly influential and divisive, including within his own party, amid continuing criticism from former president Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters.

McConnell has long being a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party, as seen when he blocked President Barack Obama from nominating Attorney General Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court bench in 2016 because a general election was several months away, but later rushed through the appointment of Trump's pick Amy Coney Barrett just weeks before the 2020 election.