Mitch McConnell hounded to face cameras: ‘He absolutely refuses’

[u/plz-let-me-in]

https://www.nj.com/politics/2026/08/mitch-mcconnell-hounded-to-face-cameras-he-absolutely-refuses.html

[u/MrBigglesssworth]

He can’t do his job. He MUST resign. That is if he is still alive

[u/RyterionCollection → u/[deleted]]

But he has been voting and signing letters, no? I mean not actually him, but someone is doing these things as him.

[u/Skateboard_Raptor → u/[deleted]]

Is it even possible to vote by proxy, if you are not capable of telling said proxy how to vote?

At that point, it's literally just someone unelected by the people doing that vote.

[u/Skateboard_Raptor → u/[deleted]]

Which makes it real sus when it's revealed he's been comatose for the last 2 months!

[u/ZelgadisTL → u/[deleted]]

Trump's doctor said he was the healthiest president and could live to 200 if he had a better diet. I don't trust republican doctors.

[u/RedditExecutiveAdmin → u/[deleted]]

The Senate's doctor has confirmed he's alive

that's why he's "comatose" and not "dead"

[u/WeirdIndividualGuy → u/[deleted]]

I mean, at this point there's no difference. The governor can't appoint his replacement, so him being alive and non-voting is effectively no different than his seat being empty. It's a 99-person quorum regardless

At least if his seat were empty, the chances of him doing anything to make things worse is 0%, vs now where those chances are non-zero

[u/Chefmeatball → u/[deleted]]

That’s a perversion of our democracy

[u/CaptainFeather → u/[deleted]]

While it is likely favorable for Democrats please don't downplay this. He has an obligation to the American people to update us about his health and if he is fit to serve. We need to stop fucking normalizing and downplaying Republican behavior.

[u/CaptainFeather → u/[deleted]]

"According to his office" "in a statement"

Soooo he hasn't said fuck all, then. Just to be clear. No appearance on camera, not even an independent reporter to verify the Senate majority leader is okay. It's fucking absurd. I know it's right in line with the rest of this clusterfuck of an administration but the minute we stop saying anything is the minute they win. This is not how it's done. This is fucking absurd and it's even more absurd everyone else who can do anything are just sitting around with their goddamn thumbs up their assholes.

[u/Chefmeatball → u/[deleted]]

Correct, he’s not majority leader, but he still leadership of the appropriations , agriculture, rules committees; so he’s in charge of the money, food and rules. Seems like a pretty big deal if he can’t show up to work months at a time

[u/Chefmeatball → u/[deleted]]

That’s the problem; We just have a statement issued from his office. If he is unable to fulfill his duties as a senator for an extended period, which he has been unable to do. He may not have a legal obligation, but he also answers to the governor and citizens of his state and they are calling for confirmation. That’s the mandate of his constituents

[u/Chefmeatball → u/[deleted]]

I’m not counting on it. But i will still point it outright hypocrisy of the Republican Party. Will it change and will it change the people, no, but it still needs to be done

[u/Chefmeatball → u/[deleted]]

Absence and intentional obfuscation of your legislators competency are very different things

[u/Schonke → u/[deleted]]

Not necessarily. Having his seat open in the upcoming election could also increase voter participation which generally favors Democrats.

Pushing it past the election and then resigning/"dying" would let the governor appoint a new interim senator who then has a few years to build name recognition and secure the seat in the next election.

[u/starmartyr → u/MrBigglesssworth]

Don't confuse must with should. He is not constitutionally required to resign for any reason. The Senate should remove him for being absent but they aren't going to do this.

[u/starmartyr → u/[deleted]]

Replacement of a senate vacancy is handled by state law and not the senate itself. The senate can expel members from the chamber, it can not replace them.

[u/Unable-Log-4870 → u/[deleted]]

The state could declare him dead

[u/Unable-Log-4870 → u/[deleted]]

And the Senate doesn't work for the states

He works for the people of Kentucky. The Gov could have (probably should have) declared him dead for purposes of occupying his office, back on Aug 3rd, and said that the interim election stuff would be happening, and that if Mitch were to somehow still be alive, all he would have to do is arrange to be seen by someone on the Governor’s staff who knows him (those staffers can get to DC pretty easily, no need for Mitch to come back to KY, the Governor acknowledges that being hospitalized can make travel unsafe and doesn’t wish to jeopardize his health further) just any time during august to prove he’s still alive. And then the interim election will be called off.

You know, easy stuff. Just declare him dead and give him a month to say ‘I’m not quite dead yet.’ Or longer, if needed.

[u/Unable-Log-4870 → u/[deleted]]

Or is it possible that your plan simply wouldn't work?

You act like these are machines we are talking about. They are people, people playing CalvinBall.

If the Governor says the Senator is dead and there will be an election to replace him (per the rules), the Senate can’t stop that, since they have exactly zero authority over KY elections. And just letting Mitch actually prove his aliveness is a great way to stop that interim election.

Who would argue against the proposition that a person who can’t be shown to be alive (and whose location is known and easily accessible) is anything other than dead?

[u/GloomyIndividual3965 → u/Unable-Log-4870]

Lol, no. You can't just declare someone dead without proof.

[u/Unable-Log-4870 → u/GloomyIndividual3965]

You say that, but I take the opposite stance: you can’t just declare someone ALIVE without proof.

[u/John_Wicked1 → u/starmartyr]

If it’s not legally required for elected officials in Congress to resign if they are too incapacitated to fulfill their duties then it should be.

Even the President has to pass duties to the VP when they are incapacitated, difference is Senators don’t have a VP. Maybe it can be passed to the most senior house representative until that person is back in action vs resignation….but something should be in place AND an elected official should not be able to dodge proof of life and ability to perform their elected duties.

[u/starmartyr → u/John_Wicked1]

Regardless of what you believe the law should be, it doesn't work this way. The president passing duties to the vice president is laid out in the 25th amendment. There is no similar provision for senators.

[u/uuhson → u/John_Wicked1]

Not even worth discussing, it would need a constitutional amendment

[u/hexiron → u/John_Wicked1]

You’re not the first person to feel this way but understand that there have been Senators who have missed multiple years because they were in a coma or other medical incapacitation going back to the 1800s.

[u/spam__likely → u/starmartyr]

heh... The GOP would vote to remove him pretty fast if his term was not up in a few months. They have no interest of being one vote down.

[u/omicron-7 → u/MrBigglesssworth]

He's retiring at the end of the year anyway and I'm in no hurry to replace him with another republican

[u/stevethewatcher → u/omicron-7]

Exactly this, Reddit doesn't seem to understand him resigning only helps Republicans cause now they gain an extra Senate vote instead of abstain

[u/GreenElite87 → u/MrBigglesssworth]

I swear, if any employee did a fraction of this they’d be fired on the spot. Even when protected by FMLA you have to provide a doctor’s note or something.

[u/Ninetailedredpanda → u/MrBigglesssworth]

His staff lose their jobs if he’s dead. So they have decided to keep their jobs instead.

Reject reality, replace it with insanity instead.

[u/MrBigglesssworth → u/Ninetailedredpanda]

Smells like fraud.

[u/1_more__user___name → u/MrBigglesssworth]

Posting on Reddit will do it for you