Mitch McConnell released from hospital after ‘flu-like symptoms’

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Senator Mitch McConnell was released from the hospital on Tuesday.

The Kentucky Republican said last week he checked into a local facility for “flu-like symptoms.”

“Senator McConnell was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is grateful for the outstanding care he received,” a spokesperson told The National News Desk on Wednesday.

“He is feeling better and will be working from home this week on the advice of his doctors.”

McConnell, who is 83 years old, has had several health issues over the past few years. He briefly used a wheelchair last year following a fall in the Capitol in 2024. Before then, he was hospitalized for a concussion and froze during two press conferences.

The senator announced last February he wouldn’t run for reelection after four decades of service.

“Seven times my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate. Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they placed in me to do their business right here,” McConnell said. “Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time.”

Several candidates have since begun campaigns to replace McConnell, whose term will end early next year. Representative Andy Barr, a Republican representing Lexington and surrounding towns; former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris are all competing for the GOP nomination.

An Emerson College poll published last week found Barr leading his opponents. The congressman’s campaign team has celebrated the results, saying in a statement they suggest momentum and a public distaste for Morris’s positions.

“The more Kentucky Republicans learn about Andy Barr’s record of Chairing President Trump’s 2024 primary campaign in Kentucky, helping him pass the largest tax cut in history and secure the border, the more they want him in the U.S. Senate fighting for them alongside Trump,” Barr said.

“Kentuckians can’t afford to nominate this woke liberal posing as a Republican who is in a statistical tie with leading Democrat Charles Booker in a recent poll,” the lawmaker added.

Morris, who founded waste management company Rubicon Technologies, has described himself as a conservative outsider who will confront Democrats and ineffective Republicans. He said in a social media post on Wednesday that Washington Republicans, who are negotiating with Democrats for immigration enforcement funding, don’t know the party is in a “war” with liberals to “save” the country from illegal immigrants.

“We can’t let violent leftist protestors to nullify the rule of law,” Morris wrote on X. “It’s time to get tough and double down on removing all of these illegals.”

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.