Mitch McConnell Hospitalized With ‘Flu-Like Symptoms’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spent years as the top Republican powerbroker in Washington, has been hospitalized following another health scare, raising renewed questions about his future as the 83-year-old prepares to step away from elected office.
McConnell, who will turn 84 later this month, sought medical attention after experiencing what aides described as flu-like symptoms over the weekend.
“In an abundance of caution, after experiencing flu-like symptoms over the weekend, Senator McConnell checked himself into a local hospital for evaluation last night,” McConnell spokesman David Popp told ABC News in a statement.
“His prognosis is positive, and he is grateful for the excellent care he is receiving. He is in regular contact with his staff and looks forward to returning to Senate business.”
The latest episode adds to a growing list of health concerns that have followed McConnell in recent years. The longtime Kentucky senator, who announced he will not seek reelection when his term expires in January 2027, has been photographed in recent months appearing physically unsteady and relying on a security escort for support.
As McConnell’s tenure winds down, President Donald J. Trump is actively working to reshape Republican leadership in the Senate, seeking to replace the establishment-aligned senator with a loyal conservative ally who will support the president’s second-term agenda rather than resist it.
But even within Trump’s inner circle, concerns are mounting about one of the leading contenders to succeed McConnell — particularly over past financial support for Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), one of the top candidates in the race, donated repeatedly through his leadership PAC to lawmakers who sided with Democrats in the impeachment effort, despite Trump publicly urging primary challenges against them.
Barr, 51, contributed seven times to support four House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, even as he personally voted against impeachment. At the time, Barr publicly criticized Trump as “irresponsible” and “not blameless.”
Barr is currently locked in a three-way contest for McConnell’s Senate seat, which the Kentucky Republican has held since 1985. His opponents include former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 39, and businessman Nate Morris, 44.
In early 2021, shortly after leaving the White House, Trump publicly read the names of the 10 House Republicans who joined Democrats to impeach him, urging supporters to “get rid of them all.”
Despite that warning, Barr donated $2,500 in February 2021 to then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who later branded Trump “a cancer” and declined to run for reelection. Barr also financially backed other impeachment Republicans, according to reporting from The Post.
Those contributions included $2,000 to then-Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) on June 15, 2021; $10,000 to Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) across multiple donations between June 2021 and August 2022; and $3,000 to then-Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) in July 2022. Of those lawmakers, only Valadao remains in Congress.
“Andy Barr didn’t just blame President Trump for the violence on [Jan. 6, 2021], he actively funded the Republicans who voted to impeach him — after the president had already made clear that he was going to target them in primaries,” a longtime Trump adviser said. “I can’t imagine a bigger slap in the face to the president than that.”
Another source close to the White House echoed those concerns, telling The Post: “Everyone in Trump’s circle views Barr as just another one of McConnell’s mentees, meaning you know he’s not going to be there for Trump when things get tough and it really matters.”
Loyalty has become a defining factor in President Trump’s second-term staffing and endorsement decisions, and critics of Barr are hoping that standard applies to the Kentucky Senate race as well.
Barr’s defenders counter that he has consistently supported Trump’s broader policy agenda and argue that his donations were part of an effort to build a wide Republican coalition against the Biden administration. They also point out that Barr’s PAC has issued hundreds of political contributions over the years.
As McConnell’s health struggles continue and the battle for his Senate seat intensifies, the Kentucky race is shaping up as a crucial test of whether the Republican Party fully breaks from its establishment past — or allows it to linger.