A GOP senator called over Capitol Police after he was asked about his colleague Mitch McConnell’s health by a reporter.
TMZ’s Charlie Cotton was following Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts while looking for answers about the 84 year-old from Kentucky, who has been hospitalized since June 14.
Ricketts did initially respond to the reporter’s question, while still walking along a corridor during the encounter caught on camera on Thursday.
“I think we should give Mitch the time he needs to be able to recover and come back to the Senate, and we’ll be praying for him, and wish him well,” Ricketts said in response to Cotton asking whether McConnell had done enough to keep the public informed.
Then, while passing a security checkpoint, Ricketts says something to the officers manning the post and gestures at Cotton with his thumb, in footage of the incident shared on X.
“These guys are not… Only he’s with me, these two are not,” said the senator, slapping his staffer on the back to distinguish him from Cotton and his cameraman.
“Yeah, but I’m a reporter, sir,” Cotton protested.
“He’s gotta go through security,” Ricketts insisted, walking away.
“I already have been through security, sir!” the reporter complained as his interviewee disappeared.
Cotton subsequently posted a clip of the incident on X with the caption: “Senator Ricketts sicked Capitol Police on me to get out of answering basic questions!”
The senator replied by admitting he had “reacted poorly,” indicating that he had subsequently called Cotton to apologize, which the journalist accepted.
Amid persistent questions about his wellbeing, McConnell’s team issued a new “proof-of-life” photo earlier this week, insisting in an accompanying statement that he is “still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky.”
Democrats including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called on McConnell to be transparent about his prospects of recovery and to resign if he is no longer able to meet his commitments.
“If you are unwilling to voluntarily show that you still have the capacity to serve, I will insist [Senate Majority] Leader [John] Thune fully investigate your condition, report to the American people, and begin the process if warranted,” Beshear wrote to McConnell in a letter, threatening his removal.
Ocasio-Cortez has stressed she believes it is “tremendously important” for the seven-term senator to be honest about his chances given that congressional votes are currently being decided along such narrow lines.
A number of McConnell’s fellow conservatives, including Thune and CNN pundit Scott Jennings, have attempted to calm speculation by saying they have held lengthy phone calls with him during his absence.
