Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has been cleared to continue his work schedule "as planned," according to Congress's attending physician, after a second episode in which the minority leader froze in front of the cameras.
McConnell, while speaking in Kentucky on Wednesday, appeared to lose concentration as a reporter asked about his reelection plans, staring blankly into space until aides came by his side to assist him. He resumed his Q&A shortly thereafter, but the episode was reminiscent of a freezing incident that occurred last month during Senate Republicans' weekly press conference.
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Brian Monahan, a Navy rear admiral who has served as the doctor for lawmakers and Supreme Court justices since 2009, consulted with McConnell and his neurology team afterward, according to a letter released by the minority leader's office on Thursday. He decided that McConnell could continue his schedule, attributing the episode to the lingering effects of a concussion he suffered earlier this year.
"After evaluating yesterday's incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned," Monahan said in the letter. "Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration."
McConnell, 81, was hospitalized in March after suffering a fall that required him to complete physical therapy. He experienced a concussion and a minor rib fracture.
He returned to the Senate one month later, but the incidents have raised questions about his ability to stay on as head of the Senate Republican Conference.
Republicans projected normalcy after the first freezing episode, and McConnell declined to elaborate on his health beyond commenting, "I'm fine."
He continued with his schedule on Wednesday, attending a fundraiser that evening for Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who is running for Senate in Indiana. McConnell and the rest of his colleagues in the upper chamber are slated to return to Washington after the August recess next week.
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McConnell is not the only senator to struggle with his health in very public terms. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) prolonged absence as she recovered from a case of shingles earlier this year prompted Democratic calls for the 90-year-old to step down. Another Senate Democrat, John Fetterman (PA), missed weeks of votes around the same time to receive treatment for depression.
The minority leader, who called his deputies after Wednesday's incident, was reported to be in "good spirits." President Joe Biden spoke to him the next day, relaying to reporters on Thursday that he had no concerns about his ability to perform his job.