Taking Back the Senate: Mitch McConnell Explains his “Number of Concerns” about the Phenomenology of Government Spending

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tried to end questions about his health and political future on Wednesday as the Senate prepares for a busy month of negotiations on federal spending.

Reporters repeatedly asked McConnell to provide specific details of what caused two incidents that resulted in the GOP leader freezing at public events. McConnell referred to the recent letter from the doctor of the U.S. Capitol who said McConnell did not have a seizure, stroke or movement disorder.

Republicans have grown frustrated with the focus, particularly with a September 30 deadline to pass government funding fast approaching. Three of the bipartisan spending bills have been approved in committee and Senate appropriators are about to vote on them. This is the first time in five years that the committee approved the full slate of regular funding bills and many in the Senate would prefer to focus on that.

“He went over the tests he’s had and he’s been given a clean bill of health,” Kennedy said. “He indicated he’s had two of these episodes and both of them happened to be during press conferences.”

Josh Hawley, a GOP senator from Missori, voted against McConnell becoming Senate GOP leader. He told reporters that people asked him about McConnell’s health throughout the August recess and that he has concerns.

“We have a chance to take back the Senate,” he said. “I just I hope that we’ll be able to be laser focused, that the Senate at least will be laser focused on on retaking the Senate.”

McConnell’s allies were able to blunt the criticism with new data. The groups with deep ties to McConnell said Wednesday that they had raised $50 million last month. That money will be spent on Senate campaigns.

Kevin Cramer, a Republican of North Dakota, said that Senate Democrats and Mr. McConnell are both pragmatic leaders. “And there is no one more shrewd.”

Mr. McConnell is a stalwart backer of maintaining financial assistance to Ukraine despite growing reservations in his own party, and he has the influence and record to keep a majority of his fellow Senate Republicans on board. He has also made it very clear that he wants to avoid a government shutdown and shares the view of Senate Democrats that federal spending has to be higher than what House Republicans are pursuing. He thinks that it’s not a good idea to start impeachment proceedings against Mr. Biden.

He said Mr. McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party, spoke for the mainstream party on most issues. “He can play an important role in his own ranks in helping us come up with a bipartisan solution to our challenges.”