Beshear Urges McConnell to Disclose More on Health Plans

Gov. Andy Beshear has once again urged U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell to provide more clarity to Kentuckians following the senator’s month-long hospitalization. McConnell was admitted to a Washington, D.C., hospital on June 14, and his staff initially withheld information about his condition or the cause of his hospitalization for nearly a month. This lack of transparency led to calls for accountability from Beshear and at least two Republican House members.

McConnell finally provided an update on July 12, stating that he had been hospitalized “after falling at home and sustaining minor injuries.” He later developed pneumonia, which responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment. Despite this update, many in Kentucky still feel that more information is needed.

“We hope that there is a speedy recovery,” Beshear said during a July 14 news conference. “But with all the speculation – and there’s been a ton – the fastest way to end all of it is calling into a news station if you’re otherwise taking calls, putting out a video or two, which all of us do in office.”

Beshear had previously called on McConnell to release more information, including in a July 8 letter sent to the senator’s office. He mentioned that he has received “no official response” to date. While he described McConnell’s July 12 update as “a step in the right direction,” he emphasized that Kentucky voters “deserve to see a little bit more and hear a little bit more” about the senator’s condition.

“I view this the same way our families would have to deal with something like this,” Beshear said. “If anybody out there … were in the hospital for a month, they’d have to call their boss at work and explain what’s going on, explain what happened and what their path is to coming back.”

These comments echoed Beshear’s previous calls for transparency and discussion on filling a Senate vacancy during a July 12 appearance on MS NOW’s PoliticsNation, just minutes before McConnell released his update.

During the July 14 news conference, Beshear also addressed the possibility of filling a Senate seat if one became available. He referenced a section of Kentucky’s constitution that gives him the authority to appoint state officers if a seat is vacated. However, he clarified that “right now, there’s not a vacancy – at least not one that we know about – so I don’t want to speculate as to what we do.”

Beshear added that all options “would be on the table to make sure that Kentucky had representation at a critical time.” His previous suggestions for a special election or appointment drew criticism from U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican representing the 6th Congressional District, who is running to replace McConnell in the upcoming November election.

“Well, not only is that not going to happen because the senator is doing fine and doing well, but the governor is suggesting something that is not consistent with the law. It’s beneath the governor to even speculate about something like that,” Barr told WHAS-TV in a July 13 interview.