Mitch McConnell seems hell-bent on resisting the new Trump Administration.
The former Senate leader even voted against Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth.
And now calls for McConnell to resign are reigniting following this ugly scene at the Capital.
Bosom buddies Biden and McConnell
Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former President Joe Biden have a lot in common.
Both have been in and around politics for several decades.
Despite being in opposite parties, both McConnell and Biden are members of the establishment who have been thorns in President Donald Trump’s side.
And both of them have had their share of health issues in their older age, now 82-years-old each.
Then-President Biden couldn’t manage to stop his bicycle while simultaneously staying on his feet.
Meanwhile, when McConnell can stand, he tends to freeze like he’s Biden on a debate stage.
Mitch McConnell falls yet again
The senior U.S. Senator from the Bluegrass State has had a rash of falls and freezes in recent years.
The most disturbing of which came in the summer of 2023.
Mitch McConnell reportedly suffered another fall in the Senate today.
He is supposedly fine.
Good.
But I still think it’s time to retire.pic.twitter.com/MgHZQELRIj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 5, 2025
McConnell was leading a press conference regarding the annual defense spending bill, featuring several Republican Senators.
The then-Senate Minority leader froze with what appeared to be stroke-like symptoms.
He suffered a similar incident later in the summer, ironically while being asked about his intentions to run for re-election in 2026.
His falls and freezes led to many calling for McConnell to retire from the upper chamber.
Mitch McConnell spotted again in a wheelchair after his multiple falls today.
Enough is enough my word. pic.twitter.com/FwUM6SxlT4
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 5, 2025
And now it’s being reported that McConnell suffered from a fall on Wednesday.
No serious injuries have been reported thus far.
However, he was later spotted in a wheelchair.
Conservative voices call for McConnell to resign
McConnell’s latest scare has resulted in all new calls for him to step aside from his seat.
Independent journalist Benny Johnson, Red State’s Bonchie, Florida Voice News’ Eric Daugherty, and many others have now publicly called for McConnell to retire.
As did Townhall’s Kurt Schlichter.
“I’ve taken a lot of heat for reminding conservatives that Mitch McConnell deserves a lot of credit, even though he sometimes makes me want to pound the wall,” Schlichter tweeted following the fall. “But it’s getting pretty clear that his physical health is limiting his ability to participate in what’s happening now. He should consider spending his remaining years with his family, and we should be grateful for the good and important things that he has done. I think he should retire.”
However, at the risk of sounding crass, Schlichter was also quick to point out the political timing concerns surrounding a McConnell retirement.
The process to replace McConnell
Despite being a deeply red state, Kentucky’s Governor is a Democrat.
Schlichter fears Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) could use a McConnell retirement to gum up the works for President Trump.
Obviously, he should only retire after we get the stuff past that we need his vote to pass because the Democrat governor of Kentucky will slow walk his replacement.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) February 5, 2025
“Obviously, he should only retire after we get the stuff past that we need his vote to pass,” Schlichter added. “Because the Democrat Governor of Kentucky will slow walk his replacement.”
Republicans in the Kentucky state legislature passed a law last year that removed appointment power away from the Governor.
Instead, a U.S. Senate replacement in the state can only be decided by a special election to fill out the remainder of the term.
But it is still the Governor who sets the date for the special election.
That could leave Republicans down a vote for months while crucial Trump policies and appointments are being voted on in the upper chamber.
McConnell’s term is up after 2026, and he has not yet declared if he intends to run for an eighth term in the Senate.
However, he had committed to keeping his seat at least through the end of his term.
Kentucky Republican Congressmen James Comer and Thomas Massie had previously said they would not run for the Senate in 2026 – although it’s unclear whether that could change if there is a special election.
However, much less conservative Congressman Andy Barr has said he’d be interested in running should McConnell step aside.
Former Kentucky Attorney General, and Republican nominee for Governor in 2023, Daniel Cameron is the other top candidate.
On the Democrat side, Governor Beshear has said he won’t run.
With Beshear foregoing a run, Pamela Stevenson, the minority leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the 2023 Democrat nominee for Kentucky Attorney General, looks like the Democrat Party’s top potential candidate.
