--- title: Kentucky Gov. Beshear Says He's 'Heard Absolutely Nothing Back' About McConnell’s Health description: It's been more than a month since the Democratic Governor issued a public letter calling on the Republican to update his constituents on the status of his health amid a lengthy hospitalization. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/08/17/andy-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-health-kentucky/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-08-17T18:29:02.469Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-17T18:29:02.630Z article:section: Politics og:title: Kentucky Gov. Beshear Says He's 'Heard Absolutely Nothing Back' About McConnell’s Health og:description: It's been more than a month since the Democratic Governor issued a public letter calling on the Republican to update his constituents on the status of his health amid a lengthy hospitalization. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/08/17/andy-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-health-kentucky/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b8b5e1ad4513281/6a83503911c020bd70e199a3/Beshear-McConnell.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Beshear-McConnell.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kentucky Gov. Beshear Says He's 'Heard Absolutely Nothing Back' About McConnell’s Health twitter:description: It's been more than a month since the Democratic Governor issued a public letter calling on the Republican to update his constituents on the status of his health amid a lengthy hospitalization. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b8b5e1ad4513281/6a83503911c020bd70e199a3/Beshear-McConnell.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kentucky Gov. Beshear Keeps Pushing for Info on McConnell’s Health. He Says He’s ‘Heard Absolutely Nothing Back’ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 17, 2026 6:29 PM UTC  Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives to chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the budget request for the U.S. Army on May 19, 2026. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives to chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the budget request for the U.S. Army on May 19, 2026. Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Aug 17, 2026 6:29 PM UTC Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. [Andy Beshear](https://time.com/article/2026/04/22/andy-beshear-2028-transgender/) said that he has “heard absolutely nothing back from” Sen. Mitch McConnell, more than a month after he issued a [public letter](https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/kentucky-governor-urges-mcconnell-to-provide-a-health-update/) calling on the Republican lawmaker to update his constituents on the status of his health amid a [lengthy](https://time.com/article/2026/07/29/andy-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-resign-fitness-letter-kentucky/) [hospitalization](https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/how-graham-s-death-and-mcconnell-s-absence-complicates-senate-gop-s-agenda/). “I wish him no harm—I actually wish him good health,” Beshear said on [CBS News’s “Face the Nation”](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andy-beshear-kentucky-governor-face-the-nation-transcript-08-16-2026/) on Sunday. “His boss are the people of Kentucky, and this is why the Senate—the Republican-controlled Senate—feels so broken. They feel like they’re not accountable to anyone.” “All he needs to do is call into this show for two minutes, or Fox News for two minutes, or do a video for two minutes to the people he’s supposed to serve, but you know what? He absolutely refuses to do it,” Beshear continued. In addition to criticizing McConnell for not sharing additional details about the state of his health, Beshear went on to call out Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “And then John Thune, as the leader of the Senate, you’ve got a duty to make sure all of your senators have the capacity to serve,” Beshear said. “And what is he saying? 'Not my job.' That’s not surprising. None of them will do their job right now and stand up to a president … that is running over the constitution at every turn.” Concerns and questions about McConnell’s heath have swirled since the 84-year-old Senator was hospitalized in June, following what his office later revealed was a fall. The Kentucky Senator shared earlier this month that he had been released from a rehabilitation center, but he has yet to return to the Senate or otherwise make a public appearance. In July, after McConnell had been absent from the Senate for several weeks without giving significant details about his condition, Beshear [publicly shared a letter](https://governor.ky.gov/attachments/20260708%5FMcConnell-Letter.pdf) he had sent to the Senator, in which he requested that McConnell “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of \[his\] health.” “Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office in the United States Senate,” Beshear wrote in the letter. “As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent. I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve.” ## The updates McConnell has shared about his health so far McConnell was hospitalized on June 14, beginning a protracted—and ongoing—absence from the Senate and the public eye. For weeks, his office released little to no details about his condition, which sparked widespread uncertainty over his health. Four days after Beshear’s letter, McConnell offered his first [public statement ](https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/mitch-mcconnell-breaks-silence-with-statement-and-photo-amid-questions-about-health-status/)since his hospitalization began, saying that he went to the hospital after a fall. He [said](https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=EB724698-4D2F-4E6E-9D3A-163943986C85) that his doctors confirmed that he didn’t sustain major injuries, such as broken bones, a concussion, or a stroke, but he was “briefly unconscious” after his fall. He also said he grappled with “a mild case of pneumonia” while he was hospitalized. He revealed that he had since “been able to move from hospital care to a rehabilitation center.” On July 27, McConnell [shared](https://time.com/article/2026/07/27/mitch-mcconnell-health-update-hospitalization-senate/) another [update](https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=DC6BF158-0E6A-4BAC-AF63-43E7DB393869) on his health, saying that he was still working toward returning to the Senate and was “keeping up with intense physical therapy.” His statement was accompanied by a message from Congress’ Office of the Attending Physician, which said that McConnell was “not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.” “Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls,” the office said. “His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.” On Aug. 6, McConnell [announced](https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=25E43CBF-8898-4D4C-AFFE-B31F85872009) that he had been discharged from his rehabilitation center that day and would continue recovering at home. “On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” he said. His office has not shared an update on his health since then, and did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. McConnell, who previously announced that he would retire in January when his term is set to end, has had health issues in the past, including [several falls](https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/mitch-mcconnell-breaks-silence-with-statement-and-photo-amid-questions-about-health-status/) in recent years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/17/andy-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-health-kentucky/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/17/andy-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-health-kentucky/"},"headline":"Kentucky Gov. Beshear Keeps Pushing for Info on McConnell’s Health. 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