Senator Rounds Says McConnell is Still Healthy Enough to Lead

(TotalConservative.com) – Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds defended fellow Republican Sen. Mitch McConnel’s health on Sunday, saying the senator is “perfectly capable” to continue serving as the Senate Minority Leader after the latest incident indicating McConnel’s rapidly declining health.

Last week, the 81-year-old Kentucky representative froze for 30 seconds at the podium in Kentucky after being asked a question, which is the second time this year it’s happened. In July, McConnell froze mid-sentence at the beginning of his remarks in Washington, D.C., for his weekly press conference and had to be escorted away. Ever since the minority leader fell in March outside a hotel in D.C., his health has been in question. McConnell was out of commission for six weeks after that fall and even fell a second time shortly before his first podium freeze.

On Sunday, Rounds made an appearance on CNN and said McConnell “is sharp,” and “shrewd.” Rounds claim the Senate minority leader “understands what needs to be done” and says he will leave it up to McConnell “as to how he wants to discuss” his health with the public, but that the South Dakota senator has “no doubt” in his mind that McConnel “is perfectly capable of continuing” to serve in office.

Of course, many Americans disagree or, at the very least, have questions. McConnell is already the longest-serving Republican leader in the Senate in American history, and after his serious fall, another fall, and two incidents of freezing and becoming unresponsive for an extended period of time, colleagues and the public have legitimate concerns. The symptoms appear consistent with partial seizures or mini-strokes.

The second incident of freezing up, ironically, happened after a reporter asked McConnel if he planned on running for re-election in 2026. It seems we may already have an answer.

Rounds is more confident. He thinks McConnell will “continue on,” that he has “a good team around him” which he “did a good job” to develop, and that he’s still “a capable leader” despite how many people “would like to see him go.” Only time will tell.