Kentucky law could force McConnell special election if he dies before Aug 3
For what it's worth- Is someone keeping him on life support to run out the clock for a special election so repubs can keep the majority? That's what it looks like to me.
Denver Lorenzo202Maybe they should cancel his health care plan and send him a cobra letter for $6000 a month coverage
SMHeath84It wouldn't be beneath the GOP to pull such a stunt. They only win when they cheat.
ArrestTrumpNow45Of course he is unconcious. You don't give cpr to a living person. He got cpr. That means he had no pulse. At his age you don't come back from that.
Pittsburgh Todd43Why are there no laws about legislators having to be in the office a certain number of days during the session? And, why are there no laws about them having to reveal their medical status to their constituents?
Mark38no senator should be allowed to be on life support during an election year, pull the plug
Madison Bureaucrat26If this is true, then it's time to storm the senate, get the KY governor to appoint a replacement and slap the MAGATS into silence.
re: McConnell He's not dead. He is probably incapacitated. Being incapacitated doesn't create a vacancy. Beshear can't appoint anyone. If he dies, a special election would only be for a lame duck senator for a few weeks. Dying senators with staff pretending they're fine is par for the course.
Andy Craig96The reason staff play this game, to the point where it's rote pro forma more than a serious attempt to convince anyone, has more to do with polite fictions we observe in such circumstances, real medical privacy constraints, and the principal's / family's preferences. It's not a political conspiracy.
Thomas Brackett “Czar” Reed45Indeed. dying Senators with staff pretending they are fine accounts for about 20% of the Senate
Lame Duck Watcher26I think all this is true. I also think extended blackouts of information should be an ethical violation.
killiplaw.bsky.social23Kind of like Strom Thurmond when I worked in the Senate as a law student in the late 80’s. Staff was on each elbow at all times leading him around, and gave him prepared statements to read. He obviously had no idea what he was reading. He was still there for another decade or so after that.
felinecannonball12chief of staff, protector of Mitch, and regent of the senate Quite a few perverse incentives to weekend at bernies your infirm senator through their last term and a half.
Dave in AK10We really need an age limit for federal office. I’d argue for 70, 75 at the most. This to include judges. Watching Diane Feinstein all but die on the Senate floor is when I finally came to believe this should be so. It was painful to see, and it badly damaged her legacy.
Siobhán McElduff107"Dying senators with staff pretending they're fine is par for the course" is probably not a great sign for any country.
Jesse Hawken43When the Funny Thing Happens with the President, if it’s not on live tv when it happens it’s a near certainty that the public won’t be informed for as long as his inner circle can manage it. That’s because it’s par for the course in DC and the gerontocracy
Dr. Jaime N. Christley™ PhD, MD, Harvard (Ret.), Side Effects M19you can read this in the exact cadence of the Pledge of Allegiance
Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬5Until we know he is incapacitated, the simplest answer for the lack of info is that he is dead. Hence, he is dead.
FormerGregSamsa4Reminded of Caligula from I, Claudius, wandering back into Tiberius's room and smothering him with a pillow, then popping back out to announce he is the new Caesar.
Cheryl Harris3Feinstein set a recent precedent.
Tiffany⸆⸉ 🇺🇸🇳🇱3Is there like a reverse writ of habeas corpus? Show me the body still works, it’s just a different body… or proof of life.
bing bong3Maybe this covers the "playing the game" stuff, but there is also the aspect that these people are fundamentally selfish/dishonest, violating their oaths and their duties to the public, and not everything is just about "gaming the system"
president toad2idk crab rave has been too loud in my head lately for him not to be at least halfway to hell
LustyTireFire (OSHA Certified)2okay but it'd be pretty cool if he was
MITCH MCCONNELL IS BRAIN DEAD ACCORDING TO WHITE HOUSE AIDE - LAURA LOOMER: HE ISN'T COMING BACK! THIS MEANS, A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR HIS SEAT IN KENTUCKY!
Tim the Terrible26Brain dead is a prerequisite to be a Repubublikkkan is it not?
captainblinky.bsky.social21Don't get too excited. They'll make sure no doctor calls his death and keep him on the machines to keep that from happening. The GOP literally have zero shame and will stop at nothing to keep power.
Deb10Occupy Democrats MITCH MCCONNELL OFFICIALLY PRONOUNCED "BRAIN DEAD" ACCORDING TO WHITE HOUSE AIDE LAURA LOOMER: BREAKING: A journalist is now reporting that Mitch McConnell is officially BRAINDEAD and will not be coming back to torment us anymore! We need official confirmation ASAP…
Deb7Likely she is pulling the same crap her husband did with President Obama and the Supreme Court Justice. Not allowing him as incoming POTUS to choose one of his own. She too, won't allow for the sake of the party and trump to let Sen.Massie take her dead husband's place if she isn't here to pull plug
Transitional Fossil5special election? I thought the Democratic governor could fill the seat. that was the reason for the delay. is MAGA getting what they wanted?
mr-e-mike.bsky.social4Im sorry, we are citing Laura Loomer as a “trusted source” now?
🐢 This is why McConnell's condition isn't being released. Republicans don't want to lose the Senate seat. If Senator Mitch McConnell were to die in office, the Governor of Kentucky would be required to call an expedited special election to fill the seat.
💙 Monte_Alto 💙 (everywhere)8Under Kentucky's House Bill 622—which became law in 2024—the Governor no longer holds the power to appoint a replacement. Because Sen McConnell already announced his upcoming retirement and his term ends in January 2027, the special election winner would only serve out the remainder of this term.
MDC_LetsEndTheMadness5...and the Governor of Kentucky is Democrat Andy Beshear. mcconnell is STILL cheating America.
DJ Uncle Fishbits3This is like McConnell holding a Supreme Court pick from Obama, but this time it's his death he's withholding. Quite the dedicated politician, to be sure.
A party of bottom feeders. No class, no nothing but greed.
Truth Firstly3Shouldn't the Governor of Kentucky have some responsibility to determine the condition of a senator representing his state?
Lauren DeAnne3It’s time for sleuth journalists to stake out his home/hospital. We need answers now!!!!
DJ Uncle Fishbits7This is like McConnell holding a Supreme Court pick from Obama, but this time it's his death he's withholding. Quite the dedicated politician, to be sure.
tlynn71.bsky.social4We demand PROOF OF LIFE.
Peter Marzano3this dude is clearly not conscious and may very well be dead and we're all just kept in the dark about it for damn near a month now
BlueClash2In the end, this is all he’s worth.
Apologies @govandybeshear.bsky.social I wasn’t familiar with recent changes to KY law You can’t appoint a successor but you *can* start the process for a special election to replace him. The key here is to use your power to begin the replacement process and force McConnell to emerge & challenge it.
frigid65.bsky.social3Can Gov. Beshear sue for proof of life, since it's relevant to his duties to name a replacement?
Andy Craig2I don't think anything like that is plausible. In the first place, he's not really dead and this whole thing is silly. And mere incapacitation doesn't even arguably create a vacancy. He'd have to be dead dead, not just mostly dead. Officially certified fact that he's cold on the slab, nothing less.
Ars Politico - 🎨✍️🏳️🌈🌊1Again, no Democrat would ever do that because THAT is what we wish all Democrats would start doing.
echoing @johnlk.bsky.social here: dems should be in favor of this! KY law got rid of the gov’s ability to appoint a replacement, there’s 0% chance a dem would win a special election to replace him, and his term ends at the end of the year anyway
Josh Fruhlinger51a six-month vacancy (de facto or de jure) in a safe red seat is the best case scenario
Andrew Coleman Francis3I'm not at all understanding the GOP strategy here. They're down one vote in the senate unless they replace him.
Chair of the Sewer Maintenance Board1that law is sketchy - there are legal opinions that the law can't actually supersede the power of the governor to appoint a replacement. I'm firmly in "appoint a replacement and tell them to eat shit"
IIRC, the current theory is that they want to wait until after the 8/11 special election deadline in KY to prevent Thomas Massie from running for his seat. I hate that it’s entirely plausible.
Elliott24Appropriately fitting for his legacy though
Avery Ashen3Yeah, I saw people discussing on reddit a few days ago. You're the first person I've seen on bsky to mention it, because it does feel so damn on point for him and his staff.
Annie 🏃♀️🌷1This was also my suspicion when they got cagey about a week after he went to the ICU
Am I understanding correctly that there won't be a special election to replace Mitch McConnell if he dies after a certain date and his seat would remain empty until the winner of the general election is sworn in?
Julia Is Waving, Not Drowning4August 3 is the last day for a special election
Str8Grandmother1Oh... whereas I wouldn't wish an unfortunate end to anyone, this IS interesting information.
Raven Onthill1IIRC, the governor would appoint his replacement. Entirely possible that the Republican party does not want the Democratic governor of Kentucky appointing a replacement.