The Journal. - What’s Going On With Mitch McConnell?

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s health is raising concerns. On Wednesday, McConnell froze and fell silent during a press conference. He had a similar incident earlier this summer. WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes reports on the veteran Republican’s health scare and the speculation about who might succeed him.  Further Reading: - Mitch McConnell Freezes a Second Time During Kentucky Press Conference  - Mitch McConnell’s Health Scares Shine Spotlight on Senate’s ‘Three Johns’  Further Listening: - How Biden and McConnell Do Business  - The Fight Over the Speaker of the House  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our colleague Siobhan Hughes covers Congress. And this week, she's been focused on something that happened to the Senate minority leader. Mitch McConnell was at an event in Kentucky when he was asked a question about whether he planned to run for re-election again in 2026. What are my thoughts about what? Running for re-election in 2026. What are my thoughts about what? Running for re-election in 2026. And he froze up. That's true. He was stationary.

You could see his eyes moving to one side, but he had no response. And an aide had to intervene and repeat the question. Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for re-election in 2026? She tried to gloss over this moment by implying that perhaps it was a hearing issue.

He just hadn't heard the question. Somebody else have a question? Please speak up. The 81-year-old senator stood frozen in silence for about 30 seconds. So we're not talking about a long amount of time, but when you're in conversation with somebody and there is that long of a pause, you notice it. The problem was this was the second time in as many months that Mitch McConnell has frozen up like this. And it called into question

whether or not he could continue doing his duties. And if he can't, how big of a deal is that? This is monumental. Mitch McConnell has put his stamp on the Republican Party over a period of decades. And so the question is, can the party continue in its current form? Or are we about to see a change?

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Leinbach. It's Friday, September 1st. Coming up on the show, what's happening with the most powerful Republican in Congress? The Summersbee Hard Cider, bursting with lovely aromas of apple. This light-bodied, fruity cider offers a crisp, clean finish, perfect for sunny days and warm nights. Enjoy it well-chilled or over ice. That's refreshing. That's Summersbee. Must be legal drinking age.

Please drink responsibly. Carlsberg Canada, Inc., Waterloo, Ontario. In his nearly four decades in office, Mitch McConnell has cemented his grip on the American political landscape. McConnell is one of the major figures of the 21st century in Congress, responsible for getting major tax legislation through Congress, responsible for the conservative makeup of the Supreme Court. His reach is so vast that he also controls essentially which Republicans get to run for office, which Republicans he's going to decide will win and be in the Senate. McConnell took an interest in politics at a young age. After graduating from

law school, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as an intern on the Hill. He made his way up through different positions and eventually ran for office. Mitch McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984. He flipped a Democratic seat and after that went about proceeding to turn Kentucky from a blue state into a red state. So he's been around since the Reagan era. His worldview was shaped largely in that period, a period that was about low taxes, that was about strong national defense, about supporting corporate America. And so he is a throwback to that very formative era. 1984, what was the top of the charts then? Oh my gosh. Let me think. Would it have been Bananarama? Or I'm thinking maybe,

anybody remember the song Karma Chameleon? Like a Virgin? That too. that too. Madonna. When Doves Cry? Well, Prince, of course, let's refer to Prince, yes. When did Mitch McConnell's health issues begin? Mitch McConnell's always had trouble walking because he had polio when he was a child.

And so it's not uncommon to see him grasp onto a rail, for example, when he walks onto the Senate floor. But the point when all of this really becomes notable is in March of this year, when his staff sends out an email after midnight one night saying that Mitch McConnell, who has been at a fundraiser at the old Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C.,

has fallen and that he has a concussion and turned out also had a fracture to his rib. We're tracking breaking news out of Washington after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized after he tripped and fell at a hotel in Washington. And Mitch McConnell stays out of the Senate for weeks and weeks because he is in rehabilitation for his concussion. And when he came back, there was a slight change in how he went about his business. There's just a subtle difference in his speech.

Nothing that would imply any sort of cognitive impairment. He delivers his words just fine, but it's clear that something has changed. And there was a moment in July when he froze up for the first time. When McConnell froze up for the first time, it couldn't have been worse for him because it was during a weekly press briefing that McConnell and leadership Republicans give to the press. Good afternoon, everyone. We're on a path to finishing the NDA this week. It's been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of... And he just couldn't respond.

Of course, it was all caught on camera. And he was surrounded by his top lieutenants, who you can tell from watching, it really didn't know what to do. And at one point, you see John Barrasso, who is a physician, approach Mitch McConnell and whisper gently to him. OK, Mitch? Yes, Chad. Anything else you want to say? I'm sure it's good back to you.

Do you want to say anything else to the press? After that incident, McConnell said he was fine. And an aide later said he'd gotten lightheaded during the press conference. What was the response from Republicans? There are a few layers to this response, because the very public response was to completely rally around Mitch McConnell to say it was a very minor episode. But the whispers begin to start. the whispers begin to start.

And once you've had a second episode, which is what happened to Mitch McConnell in August, just this week, the whispers start turning into something a little bit more. What kind of questions is this raising? Well, it's raising some really big questions because a big part of the job on Capitol Hill is communication. And that's particularly true when you are in the minority. The rule of thumb for when you are in the minority is you are not legislating and therefore you are communicating. therefore you are communicating.

And if Mitch McConnell cannot perform that basic function of communicating the message both to the press and to his members, then is he really in a position to lead the Republican caucus, particularly at a time when the Republicans would like to regain the Senate next year? Have Republicans called for him to step aside? Absolutely not. If you shoot the king,

you better kill him. And Mitch McConnell would still be able to stamp that out. And beyond that, the Republicans would view it as incredibly unse are thinking, starting to think about succession. Yes. Yes. And who might succeed McConnell is next. Because the Skip app saves you so much time by delivering stuff like your favorite cool treats, groceries, and bevies, you get to spend the summer doing what you really want. Like successfully cutting your jeans into jorts. Yes!

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with the respective terms and conditions. Limited time offer ends October 31st, 2024. Conditions apply. Visit rbc.com slash student offers. Mitch McConnell's health issues are reverberating through the Republican Party and causing people to start thinking about who could replace him. This speculation now is focused on a trio known as the Three Johns, and they are John Thune from South Dakota, John Cornyn from Texas, and John Barrasso from Wyoming.

John Thune is the Senate Republican whip. He is this tall, athletic, affable South Dakotan who Republicans like a lot. Well, good evening. Thank you. Thank you to South Dakota. He came to politics when he took out a former Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, which was a major upheaval for the Senate. And people like him because they feel he's a lot more transparent than Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell is a lockbox.

John Thune will tell you exactly where things stand in the Senate Republican Party. John Cornyn is from Texas. I'm honored to serve in Sam Houston's Senate seat. He believed that what was good for Texas was good for America. He is a mega fundraiser, probably the Senate Republican with the biggest national donor network outside of Mitch McConnell. He's a dealmaker. He's somebody who has been, for example, a China hawk. He's a dealmaker. He's somebody who has been, for example, a China hawk. He is somebody who brokered bipartisan gun legislation with Chris Murphy. And then you have John Barrasso.

John Barrasso is the head of the Senate Republican Conference. He is an orthopedic surgeon. Sometimes thinks of himself as the cowboy surgeon. Cowboys never quit. Cowboys never complain. And cowboys always look forward to coming. He's helpful to people politically. And a piece of that is he comes from Wyoming, which is a state where a lot of wealthy people have a first or a second home. And so around the edges, he can help people with their fundraising. Is there among these three Johns, is there a favorite?

This is a tricky question. People like all three of them. They each have their strengths and they have their weaknesses. John Thune is very affable. And for a long time, people saw him as the front runner in the contest. But, but, but, John Cornyn is the person with the National Fundraising Network. And then you have John Barrasso, who is perceived as somebody who is maybe somewhat less establishment than the other two. And how important is this job at this moment? This is a very important job, and it's a job that could potentially become more important next year during the presidential election when Trump seems likely to be the nominee and he could potentially win. In the job of the Senate Republican leader, in part, you're playing defense against Democrats if you're in the minority, or if you control all three branches of Congress, you're playing offense and trying to get things done. You are also trying to keep together a Republican Party that has changed over the past decades, going from a party that focused

on a strong national defense, low taxes, those things are still there, but to a party that has more America first elements, more maybe suspicion of being involved in the world, less comfort with trade agreements, more willingness to rattle the status quo. And so the next generation of Republican leader is going to have to figure out whether or not he is going to be able to preserve the Republican Party as the country has known it for decades, or whether this person is going to preside over a change, and if so, how dramatic that change will be. When Kevin McCarthy was elected as House Speaker, it was super messy. Could we be in for a similar situation in the Senate?

You're going to be in for a fight. The leadership races are never smooth. But at least right now, what Senate Republicans think is it's not going to be as ugly as that leadership fight was. That was very, very public. When the knives come out in the Senate, it's a lot subtler, which makes it hard to report on, but in some ways, almost crueler. The hardest thing to deal with is the attack that you don't see coming, that's not in front of your face. deal with is the attack that you don't see coming, that's not in front of your face. And to be clear, McConnell is still in his job.

McConnell is still in his job. McConnell is showing no signs of leaving. And that's why everybody is looking ahead to the very first week in September when the Senate comes back into session and McConnell will deliver his floor speech and again have to take questions from the press at the microphones. Everybody wants to see what he is up to and also whether he has made any decisions about his own future. That's all for today, Friday, September 1st. Additional reporting in this episode by Dominique Mosbergen and Lindsay Wise. The Journal is a co-production of Gimlet and The Wall Street Journal. The Journal is a co-production of Gimlet and The Wall Street Journal. Sarah Platt, Alan Rodriguez-Espinosa, Heather Rogers, Jonathan Sanders, Pierce Singey, Jivika Verma, Lisa Wang, Catherine Whalen, and me, Kate Leinbaugh. Our engineers are Griffin Tanner, Nathan Singapak, and Peter Leonard.

Our theme music is by So Wiley. Additional music this week from Catherine Anderson, Peter Leonard, Billy Libby, Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Griffin Tanner, So Wiley, and Blue Dot Sessions. Fact-checking by Kate Gallagher. Thanks for listening. See you Monday.