Beshear says he received calls suggesting Mitch McConnell 'passed' before he released statement

KENTUCKY — Gov. Andy Beshear is sharing more insight about the days in between Sen. Mitch McConnell's hospitalization and when he released a statement on his status.

The Kentucky senator was hospitalized on June 14 after a fall at his home in Washington, D.C. He was then being treated for a case of pneumonia after he was admitted to the hospital.

It was nearly a month until McConnell and his office released a statement on his condition and what led him to the hospital.

In the statement, McConnell said, "I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I've also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia."

Since his hospitalization, Gov. Andy Beshear has called for the senator to be more forthcoming about his condition and when he plans to return to the Senate floor.

In an interview with Katie Couric, Beshear said before McConnell released his statement on July 13, he had received "two calls from different agencies" suggesting that McConnell had passed.

Beshear added that McConnell's statement was needed, as his constituents "deserved to know what was going on."

The governor has also urged McConnell to call into a news station to offer more transparency about the situation.

"The idea is, make sure that you're reassuring people," Beshear said.

During his Team Kentucky update on Thursday, Beshear said he still hasn't directly heard from McConnell.

McConnell's last Senate vote was on June 11, and since then, he has missed dozens of votes. The Senate returned to session on July 13.