Skeptical Republican Congressman Now Believes Mitch McConnell Is Alive

A Republican congressman who publicly questioned whether Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is still alive now believes the ailing lawmaker has not died, he told Newsweek on Thursday.

Indiana Representative Marlin Stutzman, who criticized the lack of information coming from McConnell's office last week, said he now believes the 84-year-old Kentucky lawmaker can hopefully return to his role.

"After speaking to friends and colleagues who are close with Senator McConnell, I believe that he is alive and able to handle his responsibilities as senator," Stutzman told Newsweek in a statement early Thursday. "While it is unfortunate he is still hospitalized and unable to vote currently, I am praying for a speedy recovery for him. I hope he is able to return quickly and vote in favor of key legislation like reconciliation 3.0, the NDAA, and the SAVE America Act."

Newsweek reached out to McConnell's office for comment on Thursday.

McConnell's office revealed Sunday that a fall on June 14 prompted his extended hospitalization, adding that the former Senate majority leader has since undergone a series of tests and been moved to a rehabilitation facility.

"As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time," McConnell said in a statement on Sunday. "And on the advice of my doctors, I won't be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet. But rest assured that, in the meantime, I'm not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you."

McConnell, a polio survivor, said he didn't suffer a concussion but had been "briefly unconscious" after the fall. He has also been treated for a mild case of pneumonia, he said.

McConnell's lengthy statement also included a photo with his wife, Elaine Chao. Some observers, including Stutzman, had publicly speculated that McConnell had died.

McConnell's extended absence has also caught the attention of Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who formally requested an update from McConnell last week.

"While our office has not yet received a response from the Senator or his office, his public statement offered a needed update that the people of Kentucky deserved," Beshear told Newsweek in a statement Monday afternoon. "Moving forward, the Senator should show he can meaningfully engage in his elected position through interviews, videos or other means that can provide additional reassurance to our constituents."