Mitch McConnell has not cast a Senate vote in nearly a month, and the silence from his office has left a vacuum that a viral rumour of brain death has now rushed to fill.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican and former Senate majority leader has been hospitalised since 14 June, more than three weeks ago, after paramedics responded to a report of cardiac arrest at his Washington home. His office has repeatedly declined to say what caused the hospitalisation, even as two of his Senate colleagues say they have spoken with him directly this week.
