Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this week declined to say whether he would follow a state law that says Republicans would get to choose a replacement for Sen. Mitch McConnell if the Senate GOP leader leaves Congress before the end of his term.
The Democratic governor was asked during a news conference Thursday about making an appointment in the event of a Senate vacancy but said he would not speculate on the matter.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Andy Beshear this week declined to say whether he would follow a state law that says Republicans would get to choose a replacement for Sen. Mitch McConnell if the Senate GOP leader leaves Congress before the end of his term.
Kentucky state law previously permitted the governor to appoint a replacement for a vacant Senate seat until the next general House election, which occurs every two years.
In a veto statement, Beshear cited the state Constitution in suggesting that the bill “improperly and unconstitutionally" restricted the governor’s power to fill Senate vacancies.
McConnell’s first on-camera freeze up took place in July during a news conference on Capitol Hill, with the senator abruptly pausing, with a blank look, until he was briefly escorted away.
A similar episode occurred in Kentucky on Wednesday when he stood motionless and did not speak for more than 30 seconds after a reporter asked whether he planned to run for re-election in 2026.
In a statement Thursday, Brian Monahan, the U.S. Capitol’s attending physician, said that McConnell is "medically clear” to continue to work after conferring with the senator’s neurology team who was treating him for a concussion after a fall in March.
The original article contains 532 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!