Playbook: Mitch McConnell's untenable silence

By RACHAEL BADE, RYAN LIZZA and EUGENE DANIELS

08/31/2023 06:19 AM EDT

Presented by

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Mitch McConnell's latest health scare has sent the congressional rumor mill into overdrive, triggering questions about both his health and his political future. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Photo

JUST POSTED — “Feinstein is a silent character in her sad and messy final chapter,” by Dustin Gardiner: “The feud over the estate left by Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN’s late husband, RICHARD BLUM, has many of the ingredients of a Netflix thriller — complete with a billion-dollar fortune and the potential for a season-ending cliffhanger over whether she will unleash political chaos by retiring from the Senate. It’s the story that everyone is whispering about given the messy final chapter in the life of a grand dame of California politics.”

A LETTER TO THE EDITOR! — “My Tariff Policies Were a Success,” DONALD TRUMP writes in to the WSJ: “Foreigners now own $16.75 trillion more of our economy than we own of theirs. Our country is being plundered.”

ANOTHER PAUSE, A BIGGER PROBLEM — Something is going on with MITCH McCONNELL, and no one seems to have a clue what it is.

When McConnell fell during a fundraiser in March and was absent from the Senate for several weeks, the minority leader’s team moved to quickly tamp down suggestions that his concussion was worse than they’d let on.

When he suddenly froze for more than 15 seconds while speaking to reporters just before August recess, his allies suggested he was just “dehydrated.”

Yesterday, McConnell, 81, again stopped short after being asked at an event in Kentucky if he was running for reelection in 2026 — this time, for a half-minute. His office’s explanation? He was “momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today.” The video — which is difficult to watch — doesn’t suggest a voluntary pause on his part.

If the Kentucky Republican’s health was a concern before, it’s ballooned into a serious worry now.

The GOP leader’s latest health scare has sent the congressional rumor mill into overdrive, triggering questions about both his health and his political future. And yet, McConnell’s operation is saying very little. In that absence, both reporters and McConnell’s own rank and file are left to speculate about what’s happening.

How frequently are these bouts occurring? Are they seizures? Miniature strokes? Are they the byproduct of his concussion? Has he seen a neurologist?

Yesterday’s incident was bad enough that McConnell’s office said in a statement that he would see a doctor. But it seems unlikely that they can go much longer without revealing more about his condition. As National Review’s Philip Klein wrote yesterday, “it’s one thing for something to happen once, but when it happens twice, and in a progressively worse way, it becomes harder to sweep under the rug.”

THE REACTION: Publicly, senators have said little — or if they’ve weighed in, they’ve defended McConnell and wished him well. Members of the upper chamber have long operated under a there-but-for-the-grace-of-God understanding, fearful of calling for ill or aging members of the opposition party to resign lest they one day find themselves in a similar situation.

It’s why Senate Republicans didn’t harp on JOHN FETTERMAN (D-Pa.) over his hospitalization for depression, or DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-Calif.) for her longtime absence for complications from shingles (and her general aloofness upon her return). Likewise, Democrats didn’t go after MARK KIRK (R-Ill.) following his stroke or THAD COCHRAN (R-Miss.) as he shuffled around the Senate appearing to be lost.

Of course, none of those members were serving in leadership. And where past senators (most recently New Mexico Democrat BEN RAY LUJÁN) have put their doctors forward to explain their health challenges, McConnell has not.

In private, some Senate Republicans are starting to press for more information about the man who has led them since 2007 and is the longest-serving Republican leader in history.

“If we’re going to stick with him, he kinda owes it to us to tell us what’s going on,” one GOP aide from an office allied with McConnell told Playbook last night.

On the outside, some conservative commentators are less diplomatic. While he wished McConnell well, National Review’s Klein, for example, wrote that “it’s tough to see how much longer he can serve as the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate if he is not in a position to handle basic questions from reporters.”

“This is especially true given that Republicans plan to make President [JOE] BIDEN’s age and declining mental state a central part of their argument against him next year,” Klein wrote.

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Far-Reaching Impacts from EPA’s New Tailpipe Rule: A new and misguided EPA proposal would effectively impose a de-facto ban on gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles that account for nearly 99% of the cars and light/medium-duty trucks Americans drive, beginning in 2032. Instead of a flawed approach that would take away vehicle choices from Americans, EPA should reconsider the rule and focus on protecting America’s access to affordable, reliable and efficient transportation.

INSIDE McCONNELL WORLD: McConnell, who beat polio as a child, has long been extremely guarded about health matters, even as other lawmakers have become more transparent. McConnell hails from an old-school mentality where he shies away from talking about his challenges, and certainly doesn’t want to be seen as trying to win pity.

That’s why even some in his inner circle don’t know what exactly he’s ailing from. Most appear to believe the freezing episodes are just part of his recovery from his concussion and insist they won’t hinder his ability to serve.

Last night, we caught up with SCOTT JENNINGS, a longtime McConnell confidant who was with McConnell all yesterday, the day before and much of August. Jennings insisted that, despite what happened yesterday, McConnell took questions for 20 minutes, held a fundraiser for Rep. JIM BANKS’ Indiana Senate run and participated in a roundtable with voters. Jennings also insists that his speech and memory seems as sharp as ever.

“He held command of the issues. Talked about the political map and the Senate map,” Jennings said. “It was like business as usual — McConnell, fully focused and handling his duties.”

McConnell, meanwhile, called top Senate GOP allies to assure them of his ability to lead. In recent weeks, his allies have made a point of noting that he’s out and about, attending events in Washington or Kentucky as usual. He was spotted at an MLB gathering the night after his first freezing episode — even as at least one Senate Republican told us they wanted him to go to the hospital instead. Last night, after Banks tweeted out a picture of him and McConnell talking at his fundraiser, at least three people texted it to Playbook to make sure it was seen.

Still, the situation has fueled speculation about McConnell’s future, even as his office insists he will serve out his full term. That’s likely to crescendo next week, when the Senate returns from recess — particularly if McConnell skips his daily morning floor remarks, doesn’t hold his fly-in day leadership meeting or doesn’t gaggle with reporters after weekly conference lunches.

At the moment, none of his members are calling for him to step down as leader — though, as our colleague Burgess Everett points out, five of them could force a conference to discuss the matter.

Not even his nemesis Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.), who ran against him for leader last year and has publicly warred with the GOP leader before, is willing to go there — at least not yet. “I expect he’ll continue to be the Republican leader through this term,” he told CBS yesterday. “We’ll have another election after the 2024 elections.”

But if the episodes continue — and if McConnell’s team continues to keep both his colleagues and the American public in the dark — that could change.

Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

Did You Know? Here’s a dose of energy reality: Americans today drive nearly 272 million gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles, and these will account for more than 85% of the U.S. fleet in 2050. EPA’s proposed tailpipe emissions rule that would begin in 2032 could significantly limit America’s vehicle choices.

BREAKING OVERNIGHT — “A building fire in Johannesburg kills at least 73 people, many of them homeless, authorities say,” AP

THE MASTERS OF HIS FATE — Undeterred by his loss to Sen. MARK KELLY last year, BLAKE MASTERS plans to jump into another Arizona Senate GOP primary, WSJ’s Eliza Collins scooped. His impending announcement could set up an intra-MAGA clash with KARI LAKE, who’s also widely expected to run. That would add even more chaotic dynamics to what could already be a three-way general election with independent Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA and Democratic Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO. Lake is still seen as the likely frontrunner in the primary over Masters, though.

STORM REPORT — Hurricane Idalia slammed into the Florida coast yesterday before weakening to a tropical storm and drenching Georgia and South Carolina. Flooding was a major concern on the Big Bend coast of Florida in particular, while Charleston seemed to get through a massive storm surge and blue moon tide without catastrophic damage. Three deaths have already been reported in Florida and Georgia. Power outages and flight cancellations were extensive.

“As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees,” AP’s Terry Spencer reports from Perry, Fla. Though search and rescue efforts are still ongoing, loss of life seems to have been limited thus far: “Idalia blew into a very lightly inhabited area known as Florida’s ‘nature coast,’ one of the state’s most rural regions that lies far from crowded metropolises or busy tourist areas and features millions of acres of undeveloped land. That doesn’t mean that it didn’t do major damage.”

PROGRAMMING NOTE — Our daily news podcast, Playbook Daily Briefing, is off this week along with most of POLITICO’s other newsletters and podcasts. We’ll be back with a new episode Tuesday.

BIDEN’S THURSDAY — The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 11 a.m., along with VP KAMALA HARRIS.Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 2:30 p.m.THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Jewell Baggett stands beside a Christmas decoration she recovered from the wreckage of her mother's home in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday, Aug. 30. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo

TRUMP CARDS

THE INVESTIGATIONS — Another day, another firehose of news from the various legal proceedings for Trump and his allies. Here’s what you need to know from yesterday:

Daily Rudy: RUDY GIULIANI was found liable in federal court for defaming two Fulton County, Ga., poll workers amid his campaign of falsehoods about the 2020 election, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David Pickert reports. Whether and how much RUBY FREEMAN and WANDREA ‘SHAYE’ MOSS will get paid by Giuliani in damages will now be up to a jury at a trial next year. But District Judge BERYL HOWELL excoriated Giuliani in her ruling: “Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery,” she wrote. Howell ordered Giuliani and his companies to pay $133,000 in lawyers’ fees.

The Georgia defendants: SIDNEY POWELL and KENNETH CHESEBRO each asked a judge in the sprawling racketeering case to separate their trials from the other 17 defendants, which would allow their cases to move more quickly but go against DA FANI WILLIS’ desire to try them all together, CNN’s Marshall Cohen reports.

The New York business probe: New York AG TISH JAMES and Trump’s attorneys filed dueling motions yesterday in her business fraud lawsuit against the former president and the Trump Organization, AP’s Michael Sisak reports. In a massive transcript of Trump’s April deposition, the revelations include James’ office alleging that Trump overstated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion some years. Trump also defends his record in office, saying he saved millions of lives and prevented “nuclear holocaust” through his North Korea policy. Trump’s team is asking the judge to toss the case. More transcript highlights from the NYT

WHAT MARJORIE DANNENFELSER IS READING — “Dixon was warned by Trump to pivot on abortion messaging; Trump backs ‘exceptions,’” by The Detroit News’ Beth LeBlanc: TUDOR DIXON “made the comments during an interview with Trump on her podcast … ‘You came to me and you said, “You’ve got to talk differently about abortion,” and we could not pivot, we could not pivot in time,’ Dixon said … ‘I think exceptions are very important. I think you need the exceptions. You and I talked about that,’ [Trump said].” The podcast

2024 WATCH

UP FOR DEBATE — The picture is getting clearer of what the next couple of Republican presidential primary debates will look like. Fox Business announced that the three moderators of the second debate next month in Simi Valley, Calif., will be Fox Business’ STUART VARNEY, Fox News’ DANA PERINO and Univision’s ILIA CALDERÓN, the network’s Brian Flood reports. This’ll be Fox’s second straight debate, while the addition of Univision will shine a spotlight on Hispanic voters.

North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM is going all out to make the debate stage, as his affiliated Best of America super PAC pumps $4 million into a new national ad campaign, Kierra Frazier reports. The massive investment is aimed at juicing his standing in national polls, where he’ll need to hit at least 3% at least once (having already passed state polling and donor thresholds). The ads are running for almost a month on several networks.

And the third debate could take place at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in late October or early November, The Dispatch’s David Drucker, Audrey Fahlberg and Michael Warren report. Plans are still fluid and the media partner isn’t set, but the RNC is reportedly hoping that Trump would be more amenable to participating in Alabama, where he’s popular.

CALENDAR SHUFFLE — “Pa. is one step closer to having an earlier 2024 presidential primary election,” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jonathan Salant: “A state Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to move Pennsylvania’s 2024 presidential primary election earlier to March 19, but the panel’s word may not be the last on the subject.”

HOW RAMASWAMY IS LIKE TRUMP … “Emulating Trump, Ramaswamy Shows a Penchant for Dispensing With the Facts,” by NYT’s Neil Vigdor, Jonathan Weisman and Maggie Haberman

… AND HOW HE’S NOT: “Vivek Ramaswamy Blazes A Trump-Like Path. He Also Embraces Trickle-Down Economics,” by HuffPost’s Daniel Marans in Indianola, Iowa: “Ramaswamy supports free trade and unfettered legal immigration, wants to deprive the Fed of its mandate to reduce unemployment, and sees deregulation and tax cuts as the sole means with which to help struggling workers.”

TOP-ED — “Vivek Ramaswamy, Political Performance Artist,” by KARL ROVE in the WSJ: “He has no government experience, but plenty of conspiratorial demagoguery to sell.”

MORE POLITICS

NO LABELS PLANS — “No Labels preps playbook to select presidential candidates, broaden support,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer

NO LABELS, NO CRY — “Joe Manchin and Daughter Pitch $100 Million Project to Boost Centrist Policies,” by WSJ’s Eliza Collins, Julie Bykowicz and Lindsay Wise: “HEATHER MANCHIN … said she registered a politically active nonprofit organization called Americans Together in late July and that she plans to hire staff in the coming weeks. She said she leads the group and that it isn’t tied to her father’s political prospects or possible campaigns. … KEN LANGONE, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and a major Republican donor … said that he read their pitch and had a phone call with the senator earlier this month, and that their effort has his support.”

DEMS KEEPING THE TENT BIG — “Jeffries endorses Ilhan Omar amid AIPAC primary threat,” by Nick Wu

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

Smart Regulation: Vehicle and fuel technologies can cut emissions while letting Americans choose their ride.

CONGRESS

SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN — “Dem Senate plots move amid spending clash with House GOP,” by Burgess Everett: “CHUCK SCHUMER is tentatively planning to bring up several spending bills for floor votes in mid-September, as the Senate majority leader works with Appropriations Chair PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.) and ranking member SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) to prepare the bills for prime time. … Schumer and the two spending chiefs are leaning toward floor action on bills funding military construction, transportation and housing, as well as agriculture spending legislation.”

WALKING THE ABORTION LINE — “Republican Women, Fearing Backlash on Abortion, Pivot to Birth Control,” by NYT’s Annie Karni: “A group of politically vulnerable G.O.P. women has backed legislation that purports to expand birth control access but would have little effect. Critics say the bill is meant to distract from their anti-abortion stances.”

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

NOW NEXT WEEK — “Judge’s illness delays sentencing for ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio in Jan. 6 case,” by AP’s Michael Kunzelman

POLICY CORNER

BIG SHIFT ON WEED — The Biden administration just took a significant step toward easing federal policy on marijuana: A senior HHS official recommended that the DEA reclassify the drug as Schedule III instead of Schedule I, Bloomberg’s Riley Griffin, Ike Swetlitz and Tiffany Kary scooped. Now the DEA, which makes the final call, will initiate a review of the matter. Though Biden has been reluctant to back full marijuana legalization — unlike most Democrats and Americans — reclassification would be a massive reformist move in that direction, with significant implications for marijuana use, punishment and markets. (It could also give the president a big cannabis talking point in the election.) Much more from Natalie Fertig and Paul Demko

THE DISASTER RELIEF ON THE WAY … “Biden pledges $95 million for Hawaii’s electrical grid after Maui wildfires,” by WaPo’s Amy Wang

… AND NOT ON THE WAY: “FEMA forced to restrict disaster spending because of low funds,” by Thomas Frank

BORDER FILES — “Scorching Heat Is Contributing to Migrant Deaths,” by NYT’s Edgar Sandoval: “Fewer people are crossing from Mexico this year compared with last year, but already there have been more than 500 deaths in 2023.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

PULLOUT FALLOUT — Yesterday marked two years since the U.S. wrapped up its decades-long military presence in Afghanistan, a decision that ended one of the so-called endless wars and tanked Biden’s approval rating at home. A pair of stories charted some of the long-lasting effects:

The view from the administration: Ultra-repressive Taliban control of the country has foreclosed the possibility that the U.S. will recognize the government, help it access frozen funds or pull back on sanctions, NYT’s Michael Crowley reports.

The view from immigration limbo: Thousands and thousands of asylum applications from Afghans who fled still haven’t been processed, leaving families fractured and refugees stuck without clear status, WaPo’s Whitney Shefte reports. The backlog is groaning, and some Senate Republicans have blocked a bill to speed up visa processing over vetting questions.

FOR YOUR RADAR — “U.S. Embassy in Haiti tells Americans to leave ‘as soon as possible,’” WaPo

SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It’s also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It’s not just climate or science chat, it’s your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she likes her job “a lot more than I used to,” and calls immigration the Biden administration’s “weakest issue.”

Casey DeSantis and her kids were OK despite a tree falling on the governor’s mansion.

Chris Murphy had to postpone his annual walk across Connecticut due to a covid diagnosis.

Michael Avenatti’s conviction was upheld.

Elon Musk’s alleged secret glass house made by Tesla is the subject of a new investigation by the DOJ and SEC.

Peter Navarro tangled with a “Trump lost” protester.

SPOTTED: First lady Jill Biden having dinner last night at Rose Mary (“Top Chef” winner Joe Flamm’s restaurant) in Chicago, where she was at a Bidenomics union event earlier in the day.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Amber Macdonald has left her position as speechwriter for first lady Jill Biden and is transitioning to the private sector, where she will continue speechwriting as well as consulting, The Messenger’s Rebecca Morin scooped. Kristin Lynch has taken Macdonald’s place; she previously was deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at Treasury.

TRANSITIONS — Louise Stewart will be VP of global comms and public engagement at the Oversight Board, which reviews Meta content issues. She most recently was a partner at Penta. … Karmen Rajamani will be VP of government affairs at the Wireless Infrastructure Association. She previously was VP of government affairs at Crown Castle. … The Congressional Western Caucus is adding Eli Mansour as comms director and Christopher Perez as outreach representative. Mansour previously was comms director for Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.). …

… Paul Nicholas is now congressional relations specialist at HUD. He most recently was legislative assistant for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). … Emily Kassner-Marks will be press assistant for Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.). … Zachary Crawford is joining Sen. Gary Peters’ (D-Mich.) office as deputy scheduler/special assistant.

ENGAGED — Kei Helm, a health insurance policy specialist at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, proposed to Ella Jones on Saturday while on a hike at Great Falls, the site of one of their first dates in the D.C. area almost 10 years ago. They met in undergrad at Kenyon College.Pic

WEEKEND WEDDING — Alee Lockman, assistant professor of health policy and management at Texas A&M School of Public Health and a Steve Daines alum, and Calder Lynch, SVP of corporate affairs at Commonwealth Care Alliance and a CMS alum, got married Saturday at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Mont. They met through mutual friends in Boston. Pic … SPOTTED: Seema Verma, Bruce Greenstein, Emma Sandoe, Claire Burghoff, Ninio Fetalvo, Anne MacDonald, Steph Carlton, Jeet Guram, Brady Brookes, Courtney Johnson and Lauren Weber.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Louis Nelson, an editor at POLITICO, and Becky Nelson, a managing director at FGS Global, welcomed Louis James Nelson V last week. He’s named after his grandfather and, like his namesake, will go by his middle name in an effort to avoid confusion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) … Tommy Vietor of Crooked Media … Ryan Ellis … Brian Johnson of Veterans Guardian … Scott Shalett … Lauren Fine … NYT’s Tom Kaplan and Patrick Healy … Kim Hefling … Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group … Mattie Duppler of Amazon … Alex Schriver … POLITICO’s Paul Demko … Justin Myers of Blue Leadership Collaborative … Leland Vittert of NewsNation … Andy Morimoto … States Newsroom’s Jennifer Shutt … CNN’s Josh Campbell … Kaylin Minton … Bennett Resnik … Andy Richards of the AFL-CIO … Kent Klein … former Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) … Elizabeth Pemmerl

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

Freedom, Reliability, Security Threatened by EPA Tailpipe Proposal: The Biden administration’s proposed tailpipe emissions standards are bad news for Americans and the cars, trucks and vans they like to drive.

EPA’s proposal would effectively require 67% of new light-duty vehicles and 40% of medium-duty pickups and vans to be electric by 2032 – less than a decade away. The proposal would amount to a de-facto ban on vehicles that today make up about 99% of the U.S. fleet and 85% of the vehicles the government projects will be on the road in 2050.

The administration’s narrow focus on electric vehicles as the only way to reduce tailpipe emissions would impact Americans’ access to the cars, trucks and vans they count on every day for transportation. EPA should reconsider its misguided approach and instead protect America’s access to affordable, reliable and efficient transportation.