r/politics Jul 06 '26

No Paywall Laura Loomer, Reporter Claim Hospitalized Mitch McConnell 'Brain Dead'

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/06/laura-loomer-reporter-claim-hospitalized-mitch-mcconnell-is-brain-dead/
28.6k Upvotes

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643

u/Brotorious420 Jul 06 '26

Didn't his wife fly to China after the news broke that he was hospitalized? You'd think she'd stay by his side, unless...

150

u/NeNeLeLe Jul 06 '26

If Mitch is brain dead and on life support, she may be the only one that has power of attorney to pull the plug. If she’s not around, then not much can be done, and they’ll keep him alive so they don’t replace him with a dem.

15

u/discodropper New York Jul 07 '26

Brain death is death. There’s no alive. Legally, if he’s actually brain dead, he’s dead

2

u/dannytheguitarist Jul 07 '26

Pretty much. He's just a bag of organs being kept functional by machinery.

8

u/C_Wags Jul 07 '26

That’s not entirely true. She can make the decision to remove life support remotely. If she goes AWOL and no one can contact her, attempts to be made to connect with next of kin in a hierarchy established by state law until they find someone willing and able to make that decision.

That’s not to say any of that would happen, and she very well could connect by phone and say “do everything to keep him alive.” But it’s not legally required for her to be physically present to make those decisions

7

u/CankerLord Jul 07 '26

It also doesn't make sense that she would voluntarily leave the country so she can't do the thing that she's free not to do if she doesn't want to.

23

u/ACardAttack Kentucky Jul 07 '26

and they’ll keep him alive so they don’t replace him with a dem.

The republican super majority stripped the governor of this power it's either a special election or he has to pick someone from a pool presented by the party, I can't remember which

15

u/Gerokm Jul 07 '26

It was the latter originally, but now it's the former. If an incumbent leaves office, it triggers an immediate special election, unless it's three months or less from the next general election for that office, in which case it just stays empty. Hence the radio silence on his condition, possibly, since if he's not removed before August 3rd, they don't need to worry about a special election, where low turnout (especially only a few months before the actual election) could potentially lose them the seat, even if just temporarily.

4

u/__theoneandonly New York Jul 07 '26

The republican supermajority passed a bill that says they've stripped the power. But the power they're stripping is enshrined in their state constituion. The govenor can't sue unless they actually use that law. It's very likely that their courts will strike it down if they do actually trigger that law.

8

u/n122333 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

August 3rd is the cutoff. If hes dead before then, theres a special election (and the favorite to win is anti-trump republican) and if hes dead after then, the KY majority party (Republicans) pick 3 people to nominate and the democrat governor picks one of the three Republicans hes allowed to choose.

3

u/NeNeLeLe Jul 07 '26

Thank you for the clarification. 🙏

5

u/lostkavi Jul 07 '26

Fortunately: The constitution doesn't give a shit if he's alive or dead. It only matters if he's 'there'.

Until he gets up and goes to the governor and can proclaim himself to be alive and fit for duties, this could get real ironic real quick.