Tillis says McConnell’s brain is ‘as sharp as it ever was’

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Tuesday that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) brain “is as sharp as it ever was” following the Kentucky Republican’s recent months-long absence from the upper chamber after a fall.

“The difference between the [former President] Biden situation and the Mitch situation is I’ve had conversations with Mitch,” Tillis told MS NOW’s Peter Alexander on “State of Play,” referencing the former president, who also faced concerns about his age, health and ability to do his job.

“That man’s brain is as sharp as it ever was,” the North Carolina senator added. “His body’s failing him because he’s had a lifelong struggle with polio. Now, people are telling me, when I can have a coherent discussion with him — I met with him a week or so, a couple of weeks ago — ‘Mitch, how are you doing?’ He spent probably less than 30 seconds talking about that, and he immediately jumped to, ‘What are we going to do to help Ukraine? ‘What are we going to do to save the Senate and keep the filibuster?’”

Last month, McConnell, 84, returned to the Senate to cast his first vote since mid-June following months away from Capitol Hill recovering from a fall that occurred at home.

The Kentucky Republican’s extended absence and slow drips of information from his office on his condition resulted in weeks of speculation about his health and whether he would come back to the upper chamber prior to the end of his term next year.

McConnell’s time away from the Senate and advanced age refreshed conversations about lawmakers being in office for too long. Polls have shown many voters back term limits.

McConnell, now an infamous fixture of Washington, was first elected to the Senate in 1985 and is one of the longest-serving senators in American history. He is not running for reelection, with his term ending in January.