Kentucky Gov. Beshear says he's done everything in his power to address McConnell absence

Hannah Pinski, Lexington Herald-Leader on Aug 14, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear believes he’s done everything possible to demand more transparency surrounding Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.

In a Friday interview on MS Now’s State of Play, host Peter Alexander asked Beshear if he has “done everything in your power to sort of move the ball forward on this, to try to force this situation?”

“I have,” Beshear responded.

Beshear added that while he hopes McConnell is OK, the senator is ruining his legacy and needs to provide Kentuckians with reassurance about his fitness to serve.

“I want him to get better,” Beshear said. “But I just believe he has a responsibility to talk to the people of Kentucky, and I don’t think that’s asking a lot. He could call into your show for a couple minutes. He could call into Fox News. I don’t really care where he does but just give the people some reassurance and shut down any and all of these conspiracies.”

McConnell, 84, was first hospitalized June 14 and later discharged from a rehabilitation center last week. According to an Aug. 6 statement, McConnell is continuing physical therapy and working with his staff on Senate business at home.

Throughout McConnell’s hospitalization, the public received very few details surrounding his condition, prompting Democrats and some Republicans to call for more transparency. After weeks of speculation, McConnell released his first statement July 12 saying he was recovering from a fall and a case of pneumonia.

Still, Beshear has called for McConnell to release more details about his recovery.

Throughout McConnell’s absence, Beshear has faced online criticism demanding he “do something,” with some suggesting inaction could harm his 2028 presidential prospects.

Beshear reiterated Friday that without an official vacancy declared by the Senate, there’s little he can do. Kentucky law dictates that Senate vacancies have to be filled by special election, which would need to be called by the governor.

“If a governor could just claim someone doesn’t have capacity and call an election, imagine how many times in the past that would have happened,” Beshear said. “So, a state officer can’t just unilaterally do that to a federal officer.”

On July 27, Beshear sent a letter to McConnell urging him to release more details about his health condition, or resign from office. He also sent the letter to Majority Leader John Thune’s office, and encouraged others to join him in pressuring Thune to address McConnell’s absence later that week.

Beshear added Friday that McConnell and Republican leadership are responsible for a broken Senate.

“John Thune saying it’s not his job to determine if Mitch McConnell even has the capacity to continue that, that’s somehow just between the people of Kentucky and him,” Beshear said. “And while Mitch McConnell won’t show up for his job, Congress won’t do their job. They won’t stop the president from unlawful tariffs that are raising the price of groceries. They won’t push back on this war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed the price of gasoline. They won’t stop these terrible cuts to food assistance.”

The Senate is in its August recess and set to reconvene Sept. 14. McConnell’s office has not released a timeline on his return to the chamber.