Senator spouse is said to have visited merely three days after he underwent CPR due to an apparent heart attack, as per a new report.
Elaine Chao, 73, has been wed to the 84-year-old Republican senator since 1993 and previously held the position of transportation secretary during the initial Trump administration. She traveled to and had a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng shortly after hospitalization, the Daily Beast reported.
Images shared by Chinese media depict Chao conversing with Zheng on June 17, reportedly discussing initiatives to enhance China–U.S. relations.
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The timing of this visit raises additional questions on a growing list that aides have refrained from addressing since an EMS call, made public this week, disclosed that he had been hospitalized following a heart attack on June 14, with an emergency response dispatched to his residence in Washington, D.C.
The audio of the call was initially disclosed by journalist Desiree Townsend, as per the Daily Beast.
The team of the senator has confirmed his hospitalization but has not provided further information regarding his condition, including whether he is conscious or who is currently managing his office.
“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” a statement from his office, sent via email, states. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Dr. Jeremy Faust expresses concerns over McConnell’s condition
Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard, has expressed concern that McConnell’s condition might be more severe than what his team is suggesting, pointing out that most patients who survive CPR after experiencing a heart attack typically cannot “take care of their bodily needs.”
Speaking on CNN’s Thursday evening broadcast of Erin Burnett Outfront, Faust said, “If it does work and we can restart their heart and their heart is beating spontaneously, that begins a long road to recovery, even for the healthiest of patients.”
“So when you have a person who is elderly and who has other underlying medical conditions, it‘s really concerning,” he added.
A look into Mitch McConnell’s health update
McConnell has encountered multiple health issues throughout his seven terms in the Senate, having been first elected in 1985 and holding the record for the longest-serving senator from . However, concerns regarding his health have intensified and become more serious in recent years.
In February, he was hospitalized for eight days after voluntarily checking in due to flu-like symptoms, exercising caution.
In October, he collapsed at the when approached by activists and was assisted by aides and Capitol Police. Additionally, he was observed being wheeled out of the Capitol in a wheelchair following two falls in quick succession in February 2025.
In December 2024, the senator also experienced a fall during a Senate lunch, and the previous year, he was hospitalized due to a concussion and a minor rib fracture resulting from another fall.
