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Mitch McConnell swarmed by security as reporter pleads: 'Can you say a word for us?'
By Stepheny Price
Published September 23, 2026
Sen. Mitch McConnell remained silent as reporters peppered him with questions about his health and his wife’s response to his hospitalization during a striking scene in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
"How’s it going, Mitch? Can we get a thumbs up?" one reporter called as security and aides surrounded the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican.
"Were you upset that Elaine didn’t promptly return to see you in the hospital, sir?" another asked, referring to McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks at the Senate Subway heading to a vote on the ninth day of a partial shutdown of the federal government at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 9, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Reuters)
"Senator, how are you feeling today?" a reporter repeatedly called. "Can you say a word for us, sir?"
McConnell did not answer as the group moved past the cameras.
KENTUCKY GOVERNOR CALLS ON MCCONNELL TO PROVE HE IS FIT TO SERVE OR RESIGN: 'ADDRESS THE PEOPLE'
Sen. Mitch McConnell is helped up steps as he enters the US Capitol in Washington, DC on February 2, 2026. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The striking scene comes amid ongoing questions about McConnell’s health after a series of falls and public freezing episodes in recent years.
McConnell returned to Capitol Hill last week after a roughly three-month absence following a June fall that briefly knocked him unconscious. He later said he was also treated for mild pneumonia.
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The longtime Kentucky senator stepped down as Senate Republican leader at the beginning of 2025 and announced weeks later that he would not seek reelection. His current term ends in January 2027.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mitch-mcconnell-swarmed-security-reporter-pleads-can-you-say-word-us