Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill as they race to reach a short-term funding deal by the end of the month to keep federal agencies open and avert a government shutdown. But worries about the health of two top Republicans loom over the high-stakes talks as politicians’ age has become a growing concern.
Speaking to reporters last week in Kentucky, Mitch McConnell, the 81-year-old Senate Republican leader, appeared to freeze for 30 seconds after calling the possibility of a shutdown “a pretty big mess”. The incident raised questions about his health and mirrored an earlier incident where he suddenly paused for several seconds while speaking to reporters at the US Capitol.
In July, McConnell stopped mid-sentence during a weekly Republican news conference, stoking concerns about his ability to lead months after sustaining a concussion from a fall that kept him away from Capitol Hill for six weeks.
There is “no evidence” McConnell experienced a stroke during last week’s episode or has a seizure or movement disorder, such as Parkinson’s disease, Brian Monahan, the Capitol attending physician, wrote in a letter to McConnell on Tuesday. Monahan said he didn’t recommend treatment changes.
“I think we’ll end up with a short-term congressional resolution, probably into December, as we struggle to figure out exactly what the government spending level is going to be for next year,” McConnell told reporters in Kentucky. “The speaker and the president reached an agreement, which I supported, in connection with raising the debt ceiling to set spending levels for next year.”
He added that the House then passed spending bills below those levels, but “that’s not going to be replicated in the Senate”.
McConnell, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984, isn’t the only top Republican facing concerns about health.
Steve Scalise, the second-highest-ranking Republican in the House, revealed last week he is undergoing treatment for blood cancer, which will take at least a few months.
“I expect to work through this period and intend to return to Washington, continuing my work as Majority Leader and serving the people of Louisiana’s First Congressional District,” Scalise, 57, wrote in a social media post.
Scalise’s announcement comes as the short-term funding deal supported by Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, faces its strongest opposition from a group of rightwing Republicans in the lower chamber.
Members of the House Freedom caucus released a statement in late August saying they would oppose any short-term funding measure that doesn’t include a Republican-backed border security bill that would limit immigration or address the “weaponization” of the justice department and the FBI.
According to Politico, Scalise earlier expressed some support for “pushing language” on border security but said he was more focused on reaching a short-term funding deal.
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“I’m more concerned about us not getting control over spending and not putting limits on the damage that the Biden administration is doing to our country,” Scalise told Politico. While the Senate resumed on Tuesday, the House will return next week.
Democrats are also facing concerns over the health of the oldest members of their party.
Dianne Feinstein, the 90-year-old Democratic California senator, was away from Capitol Hill for months as she recovered from a hospitalization for shingles. Though Feinstein said she would retire at the end of her term in 2025, members of her party called on her to resign after her absence stalled several confirmation votes in the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority. Since returning, Feinstein has at times appeared confused, telling a reporter in May, “I’ve been here”, when asked about her absence.
At 80, Joe Biden is the oldest-ever US president and, if reelected, would be 86 by the end of his second term. Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner, is 77. The median age of voting lawmakers in the Senate is 65.3 years and, in the House, 57.9 years, according to the Pew Research Center.
Other Democrats have recently battled health issues, but it’s unlikely this will have a major effect on their terms. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland representative, finished his final bout of chemotherapy in June and weighed a run for Senate before announcing he is running for reelection to the House.
John Fetterman, the US senator who had a stroke on the campaign trail last year, faced questions about his ability to serve, but has adjusted to using closed-captioned technology and a tablet to respond to reporter questions. The first-year Pennsylvania Democrat was also treated for clinical depression after checking himself into a hospital in February. He has since returned to the Senate, hailed for publicly addressing his struggles with mental health.