Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is back at work following at least two “freezing” episodes over the last couple of months, incidents where he is speaking and then pauses mid-sentence for several moments before coming around again.
“I’m fine. I’m completely recovered and, uh, just fine,” the 81-year-old told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” earlier this week, per The Blaze.
McConnell’s claim of being just fine comes after congressional physician and Navy Rear Adm. Dr. Brian Monahan said late last month there is “no evidence of Parkinson’s disease or a stroke or a seizure.” McConnell himself has said he was simply “dehydrated.”
“Is there anything the public should know that wasn’t disclosed?” a “Face the Nation” reporter asked McConnell.
“I’m in good shape, completely recovered, and back on the job,” he replied.
“So does that mean that you think you are able to continue serving and you want to continue serving here at a time when we are talking about incredible dysfunction in Washington?” she pressed.
“I think we ought to be talking about what we were talking about earlier rather than my health,” he shot back.
Monahan’s rosy diagnoses “have drawn scrutiny and contradicted other doctors’ reported impressions of the top Republican’s condition,” Axios reported last month.
“Monahan’s role as a medical doctor for Congress has gained more attention as McConnell has remained committed to staying in office following multiple health episodes this year,” the report continued.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at N.Y.U. Langone told The New York Times, “The ethicists sometimes call it the problem of dual loyalty,” comparing the role of the Capitol physician to physicians who work for professional sports teams.
Conservative Brief added:
Each healthcare provider has dual responsibilities – one to their individual patients and another to their employers or organizations, who depend on patients being healthy enough to continue their activities, whether it’s work or leisure, which can lead to potential conflicts of interest, the Times noted.
“You know the coaches and the owners want the athletes out there playing, but you also want to look out for their health,” Caplan said.
Some others criticized Monahan’s diagnosis.
“Medicine shouldn’t be politicized,” Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who is Kentucky’s junior senator and an ophthalmologist, said. “And if you’re giving advice on what someone’s potential diagnosis is, really, it ought to be based on the facts. And what I can tell you is that having vacant spells of 30 seconds or more where you’re unresponsive is not a sign or a symptom of dehydration.”
“When you have misinformation put out there, like ‘just dehydration,’ it leads to further conjecture, well, maybe there’s something else we’re not telling,” he told the Times.
