Lawmakers who serve their constituents for years on end are to be applauded, to a large extent, for their dedication to public service.
But eventually the question must be asked: When is it time to exit the stage?
As The Hill reported, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to freeze up while taking questions in Kentucky Wednesday, the second time in recent weeks that he paused while talking to reporters.
A reporter asked McConnell, 81, for his thoughts about running for reelection in 2026.
The Senate GOP leader twice asked the reporter to repeat the question, then responded “that’s a,” before freezing and looking ahead for roughly 30 seconds, according to a video posted on X by MSNBC.
At one point during the freeze-up, an aide walked up to McConnell and asked “did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” To which McConnell replied with a word that was inaudible.
“Alright, I’m sorry you all, we’re gonna need a minute,” the aide said.
President Biden said Wednesday that he plans to call McConnell.
“I just heard, literally, coming out. And Mitch is a friend, as you know, not a joke,” Biden said during remarks at the White House on the Hurricane Idalia response. “We have disagreements politically, but he’s a good friend.”
“So, I’m going to try to get in touch with him later this afternoon. I don’t know enough to know,” Biden added.
McConnell, 81, and Biden, 80, served in the Senate together for more than two decades before Biden left to be vice president in 2009.
Pleasantries aside, that would have to be an awkward conversation, as Biden is no stranger to “sandbag” moments. If he is, as Biden says, a friend, he’d suggest that McConnell take some time off, perhaps do a retirement test-run.
Biden, or someone, should have the same conversation with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had to be prompted during a vote on a defense appropriations bill last month.
The 90-year-old Democrat appeared confused, according to reports. Instead of giving her vote, she began a speech in support of the measure.
About 15 seconds in, an aide whispered in her ear. Committee chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., then told Feinstein: “Just say aye.”
“Aye,” Feinstein said.
There’s a difference between ageism – the assumption that a person can’t or shouldn’t do a job because of their age, and glossing over moments of confusion and incapacitation. That can happen at any age. If McConnell was 30 years younger and froze multiple times, it would still be cause for concern.
Is he OK? Is Feinstein? While aides do their best to save face as the cameras roll, is anyone taking a step back to ask “what’s going on here?”
Constituents have to be worried as well, and not just for the well-being of their representatives on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers need to be in, if not fighting shape, at least able to withstand the grind of Congress. And voters should feel secure that their elected officials are voicing their votes, and not just repeating what another lawmaker tells them to say.
We hope McConnell and Feinstein are in good health, and that there is someone with their, and the people’s, best interest at heart willing to have a difficult conversation.
