New video shows former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell being loaded into an ambulance after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill home last month.
The video, shot by a neighbor of McConnell and published by CNN Friday, shows DC Fire and EMS personnel wheeling the 84-year-old on a stretcher on the morning of June 14.
The Kentucky Republican’s face is not visible, and his lower legs appear to be covered by an orange blanket with his bare feet protruding. The neighbor related to the outlet that another eyewitness had told them that McConnell was not wearing an oxygen mask when he was transported to a local hospital.
“One of my neighbors is like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s Mitch, I saw his face,’” the anonymous resident told CNN.
Previously released dispatch audio indicated that McConnell had been found “unconscious” at his home and that first responders had performed CPR on him. The neighbor who shot the video told CNN that paramedics showed no sign of concern or panic about their patient’s health.
“In a situation where perhaps time is of the essence, there seems to be a little bit more urgency, but there was no urgency here,” they said.
Rumors about the 84-year-old’s health have swirled since his hospitalization, with some far-right commentators claiming that McConnell was left “brain dead” by his medical episode.
Senate Republican leadership and McConnell’s office have insisted that he is on the mend and keeping in touch with his colleagues about the issues of the day.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) issued a statement earlier this week saying that he and McConnell spoke by phone Monday and shared “a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”
Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) put out a similar comment, saying the two had a phone call that lasted “roughly 20 minutes” and that McConnell was “fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”
CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, a former McConnell adviser, said Tuesday that his former boss had called him that day and “sounded strong.”
McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the history of the Senate, headed the GOP conference for 18 years before stepping down in January 2025. He was last seen at the Capitol June 4.
The senator suffered freeze-ups in public — as well as falls, one of which left him concussed and with a cracked rib in early 2023 — before announcing in February 2025 that he would not seek re-election this November.
McConnell was briefly hospitalized this past February and treated for flu-like symptoms. Since then, he’d often been seen on Capitol Hill being pushed around in a wheelchair.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) won a GOP primary election earlier this year to replace McConnell in a state that went for Trump in 2024 by more than 30 percentage points.
McConnell is the third-oldest serving senator, trailing Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 92, and fellow 84-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
