Josh Hawley is calling out Mitch McConnell over a month-long absence from the Senate, saying the former majority leader owes constituents a plain explanation of what is going on. Hawley said McConnell has been away from the upper chamber for over a month after a fall at home left him hospitalized.
The criticism lands now because McConnell's absence is not just a personal matter inside the GOP conference. Senate Republicans are down two crucial votes, and Hawley said that makes it harder to move anything through a slim majority when every vote counts.
Hawley told News Digital that McConnell has an obligation to let his constituents know what is going on. He said that at a certain point, a senator has an obligation to constituents and to the country to say what the situation is, and he added that being short a vote is not easy when the majority is this narrow.
The Missouri senator said he has been totally in the dark about McConnell's condition and that he never had any idea about any of his health stuff. He said he hopes McConnell recovers, but also wants more transparency so people know what the situation is. McConnell is 84 and has not been seen in the Senate for more than a month since the fall at his home.
That absence matters for more than the moment itself. Hawley said the lack of GOP votes is hurting priorities such as the voter integrity measure, the SAVE America Act, at a time when Republicans are trying to finish key parts of President Donald Trump's agenda. He said he would defer to Senate Majority Leader John Thune on how to handle McConnell's situation, but argued that leadership cannot keep saying the votes are missing without explaining why one of them is gone.
Hawley also used the moment to argue for broader turnover in the Senate, saying he is a term-limit guy and that people stay too long once they get here. He praised Chuck Grassley as sharp and spry, but said that does not change his view that the institution needs limits because voters do not want people to remain in office forever. The unanswered question is no longer whether McConnell has been absent; it is whether his team will tell the Senate and the public what kind of condition he is in, and when he will be back.
