Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) claimed that lawmakers providing full transparency about their health by releasing their health records should be a "house rule" after several health scares in Congress this year.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have both had health scares this past year, with McConnell freezing on camera twice and Feinstein developing shingles. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) also recently revealed that he is undergoing treatment for blood cancer.
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Cassidy was responding to a question by NBC host Chuck Todd on Sunday, stating that he believes it should be a "house rule" for elected officials to release their medical records.
"I think if you want to be the president of the United States, or a senator, or a House member, then there is a responsibility over and above that of just offering yourself,” Cassidy told NBC News. “It has to be that you can show that you have clarity. Now, we could define what that means.”
Cassidy said he believes McConnell handled his health scare "perfectly" by providing details on what tests had been done and the results of those tests.
"[McConnell's] doctor is releasing not just the tests, but the results of the tests,” Cassidy said. “And with that, there is a transparency that allows people to move beyond a number into, ‘What is actually the kind of science, if you will, the medical science, of how to evaluate?’ And I think that should be the standard that folks are held to, and I think he’s responded.”
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Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, released a letter last week that declared there were no indications in the test results and scans that McConnell experienced a stroke or seizure. He also eliminated conditions such as Parkinson's disease. He has cleared McConnell to return to his work in the Senate and chalked up the health issues to recovery from a concussion and dehydration.
Despite McConnell's clearance, some senators, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who was an ophthalmologist for 25 years before entering Congress, have been skeptical of the dehydration diagnosis, claiming the freeze appeared to be a focal neurological event.