A 73-year-old Republican senator has leapt to Mitch McConnell's defence from nearly 1,000 miles away, condemning demands for more transparency about the Senate leader's health after his weeks-long absence from Washington following a June fall. Speaking to Maine's Susan Collins urged critics to 'extend some grace' to McConnell, as pressure mounts in Kentucky for the veteran lawmaker to prove he is still fit to serve.
A murky period for McConnell, who was hospitalised on 14 June after a fall and has not been seen on Capitol Hill for weeks, prompting a round of anxious questions and political sniping in his home state. With little official detail released, Kentucky's Democratic governor Andy Beshear has tried to force the issue into the open, sending pointed letters to McConnell and Republican leaders in the Senate demanding a formal probe into the 82‑year‑old's condition and capacity.
