Octogenarian senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was wheeled back into the US Capitol building after spending 92 days recovering from a fall and pneumonia — an extraordinary absence during which he didn’t make a single public appearance via video or audio.
Videos of the frail lawmaker didn’t exactly instill confidence that he’s now ready to vote on matters of national importance, let alone withstand hours of testimony. One video shared by TMZ showed McConnell staring into the distance while being loaded into a vehicle, failing to react to shouting reporters trying to get his attention.
Netizens likened him to a “zombie,” accusing officials of “Weekend at Bernie’s-ing him.”
“It’s actually terrifying that Mitch McConnell gets to make decisions that affect all of us,” one rattled user argued.
Medical professionals were equally worried about his clearly fragile state.
“Unless he’s something different from the patients that I see day to day, he is in no position to be going onto the Senate floor, listening to hours of testimony, reading bills, and making executive decisions when he’s probably in pain,” vascular surgeon Anahita Dua told the Daily Beast, adding that he’s “probably unable to do the basic things like something as simple as he needs to go to the bathroom.”
“He should be rehabilitating at home with his family, eating properly, sleeping properly, and as de-stressed as possible,” she added, arguing that another tumble could prove disastrous — or even fatal.
McConnell’s obviously delicate health perfectly highlights the extremely advanced age of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. As of last year, the median age of voting members in the House of Representatives and Senate was over 57 years and over 64 years, respectively, according to the Pew Research Center.
Their average has been steadily climbing for decades now, leading to frequent calls for more oversight, age limits, and far greater transparency about the medical condition of representatives.
Critics have also questioned their ability to make informed decisions across highly technical subjects such as AI and cryptocurrencies. Case in point, lawmakers appear to be woefully unprepared for how to regulate AI, a lack of urgency despite heightened by growing concerns that it could be an existential threat.
McConnell, for his part, claimed on Monday that he was “glad” to see reporters who had convened at the US Capitol.
“Time to get back to work, finish the job for this Congress,” he said in a “voice that sometimes faltered,” according to Reuters.
The aging lawmaker is planning to retire after the upcoming midterm elections, after which he’ll presumably finally have time to finally recover from several months of rehabilitation. He had already experienced several baffling freezing spells before his most recent crisis, leading to rampant speculation. This year’s fall is also far from the first. In 2023, he took a stumble, getting a concussion and breaking a rib in the process.
To many, he has no business making decisions of any kind on behalf of the American people.
The situation reeks of “elder abuse,” Dua told the Daily Beast. “I’m glad to see that he’s not debilitated, but there’s no way that this recovery is complete.”
“We as a country need to come together, regardless of party line,” she added. “We need to come together as a nation and say, this is not how we treat our elderly.”
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