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INSIDER Slugga: Mission accomplished – they ran out the clock on Mitch

August 5, 2026 | | Print Article

Views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

A week has passed since his team released the last “proof of life” picture, and the mysteriously missing Mitch McConnell still hasn’t held a news conference.

The Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee chair has yet to appear in public since June 14, the day that the elderly Republican was trucked off in the back of an ambulance from his residence with what was said to be a serious cardiac incident according to dispatcher audio, although denied by “McConnell” who claimed that it was only a minor fall and a slight case of pneumonia.

Last week, another image of the absentee lawmaker was posted with spouse – and alleged Chinese spy – Elaine Chao along with a statement expressing regret that he would be missing this year’s edition of the Fancy Farm Picnic, a must-attend event for politicians in the Bluegrass State seeking to curry favor with constituents.

The statement was enough for the incurious press, who in a different time would be doing everything short of sending out the cadaver dogs to find a missing U.S. senator, a sad testament to the role of modern investigative journalism in what would have once been a major scandal that dominated headlines and the nightly news shows.

Despite the pics and statements that there is no proof that McConnell himself actually wrote – let alone was aware of – there has been no putting to rest theories about his true state, with Trump confidante Laura Loomer claiming that a source told her that the former Senate minority leader is “brain dead” and a “vegetable,” which could explain his inability to get in front of a camera.

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But while McConnell has not yet surfaced to prove he’s actually alive, his team has managed to successfully keep him under wraps until the deadline for a state-mandated special election to fill his seat had passed – Monday, August 3rd.

So congratulations to Team Mitch; they methodically drove the length of the field for a month and a half and punched the ball into the end zone, precluding the loss of the lucrative seat until November when he was going to retire anyway.

However, Kentucky’s Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear, who has dragged his feet instead of filling the seat himself, is insisting that the Aug 3 deadline isn’t set in stone and that he still reserves the right to call for the special election.

Not likely because making a move now after the deadline has passed would surely draw lawsuits that will drag out the process until well after November 4, the day when voters get to pick McConnell’s replacement themselves. Besides, nothing that the governor can do now is going to obscure the fact that he’s all talk and no action.

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With the Senate set to blow town for August recess and then return briefly after Labor Day before another month off ahead of the midterms, it may be a safe bet that Mitch will be a no-show for the remainder of the current term. No need to prop him up with a “Weekend at Bernie’s” stunt when he can just ghost everyone until the new Congress is seated in January.

He may never be seen in public again, and that’s a big win for his handlers.

Chris Donaldson
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