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Several of Sen. Mitch McConnell's Republican colleagues and allies said on Tuesday that they've spoken with him by phone, offering the fullest picture yet of the hospitalized Kentucky Republican's condition after more than three weeks in which he has not been seen publicly and his office has said little.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) spoke with McConnell on Monday, and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) talked with him Tuesday, their offices said.
Both men spent years on McConnell's leadership team before rising to the top of the party - Thune served as his whip and Barrasso as the No. 3 Republican - and the two now hold the Senate's top GOP posts.
McConnell ally Scott Jennings said on social media that he, too, had talked with the senator, who remains in the hospital.
But none of the accounts included McConnell speaking publicly himself, and his office has not disclosed what sent the 84-year-old to the hospital on June 14.
Amid the official silence from his office, others have rushed to fill the vacuum with rumors and theories. Right-wing influencers aligned with President Donald Trump have spread unverified claims that the senator is gravely incapacitated and have accused GOP leaders of a cover-up.
In some cases, the attempts from GOP allies to reassure have only driven conservative influencers to post even wilder theories about the situation.
Trump ally and far-right activist Laura Loomer shared posts this week alleging, without evidence, that the senator is in a "vegetative state." Even after Jennings, Thune and Barrasso said they had spoken with McConnell, Loomer doubled down and described the situation as the "biggest cover up ever right now."
Many noted that McConnell himself has not appeared, spoken publicly or authorized a detailed medical disclosure.
On Tuesday, McConnell's team directed reporters to tweets from his allies saying the senator was taking their phone calls as recently as Tuesday afternoon. And those allies made efforts to offer details on the calls.
Barrasso spoke with McConnell Tuesday afternoon for about 20 minutes, his office said. The two senators discussed the Graham Platner scandal in Maine, the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits, and legislative priorities like the National Defense Authorization Act and confirming Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, according to Barrasso's office.
"Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate," said Kate Noyes, Barrasso's communications director.
A spokesperson for Thune said, "They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security."
Jennings, a longtime adviser to McConnell, posted on social media Tuesday that he had spoken on the phone with the senator that morning, also for about 20 minutes. They discussed topics including Iran and Ukraine, Jennings wrote.
Online accusations of a cover-up - including a post from former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene - also emphasized the fact that McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, traveled to China after his hospitalization.
A spokesperson for Chao, a former secretary of transportation, said that she was on a "long-planned" trip in China for her family's philanthropic work, that "the Senator's health did not warrant an immediate return to the US" and that Chao has since returned. During the trip, Chao met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, according to a readout from the Chinese Embassy, and with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue, her spokesperson said.
In response to a Monday post from a conservative influencer claiming that senators are "ALL in" on a cover-up, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) replied that many senators "know nothing about his condition," fueling additional speculation.
By Tuesday afternoon, Lee had posted a follow-up on X, pointing to Thune's and Barrasso's phone calls with McConnell as "good news."
But online skeptics were not appeased.
McConnell, who had already announced that he would not seek reelection this fall, has served in the Senate since 1985 and led Senate Republicans from 2007 until 2025. While he was a leading proponent of Trump's legislative agenda during Trump's first term, he has been more willing to buck the president's desires in recent years.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on the morning of June 14, according to a statement from his office, which added that he was "receiving excellent care."
EMS dispatch audio from the morning of June 14 suggests that emergency medical personnel were sent to McConnell's home to attend to an unconscious person in cardiac arrest.
According to the dispatch audio, a call went out at 8:36 a.m. for an "unconscious" person at McConnell's address, and an ambulance was sent with an advanced life-support crew. Six minutes later a medic radioed that CPR was "in progress." At 8:43 a.m., a dispatcher relayed the emergency as a "cardiac arrest." McConnell is named nowhere in the recording, though the address is his.
On June 22, eight days after McConnell was hospitalized, his office said that he wouldn't be voting that week "as he continues his recovery."
A July 2 statement from McConnell's office provided little new information but said he was still in the hospital.
"The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session," his office said. His office has not provided additional information since then.
McConnell's continued absence may pose challenges for Senate Republicans. There is no mechanism to remove and replace an incapacitated senator, even temporarily, unlike for other offices including the presidency. The Senate does not allow proxy votes, and McConnell's absence reduces the Republican majority in the chamber to 52-47.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats without McConnell, which could prevent Republicans from advancing their spending priorities until his return.
This is not the first health scare for McConnell in recent years. He had polio as a child and has acknowledged difficulty climbing stairs. He was hospitalized in March 2023 with a concussion and broken ribs after falling. He spent nearly six weeks away from the Senate recovering while he was still nominally the head of the Republican conference.
Shortly afterward, in July and August 2023, McConnell twice froze midsentence while publicly speaking with reporters and needed assistance. He sustained a sprained wrist and a minor cut on his face after a trip in December 2024. In February 2025, McConnell fell on the stairs exiting the Senate chamber and later was seen using a wheelchair. In October, he fell again. And he spent more than a week in the hospital in February for flulike symptoms, according to his office.
Medical issues are a recurring theme in the Senate; more than half the current senators are over 65.
Before her death at age 90 in 2023, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) faced scrutiny after months away from the Senate due to a shingles infection and amid concerns about her memory. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina), who served until age 100, experienced repeated health problems, necessitating his move into a hospital while his staff managed much of his work.
McConnell announced in February 2025 that he would retire at the end of his term in January 2027. Rep. Andy Barr (Kentucky) won the Republican primary to replace him in May and is heavily favored in the Senate race.
In 2024, Kentucky Republicans changed state law to strip the governor of the authority to appoint a replacement senator in case of a vacancy, instead mandating a special election. If a vacancy happens late in an election cycle, however, the seat may remain empty until the newly elected senator takes office in January.
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