Kentucky governor won’t commit to naming GOP if McConnell steps down

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this week declined to say whether he would follow a state law that says Republicans could choose a replacement for Sen. Mitch McConnell if the GOP Senate leader leaves Congress before the end of his term.

The Democratic governor was asked at a press conference Thursday about the possibility of making a nomination if a Senate vacancy occurs, but said he would not speculate on the matter.

“There are no vacancies in the Senate,” Beshear told reporters. “The senator. McConnell said he’s going to serve out his term, and I believe him, so I’m not going to speculate on something that didn’t happen and won’t happen.

McConnell’s health has come under increasing scrutiny after the 81-year-old senator, who this year became the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, appeared to freeze during two press conferences in July and august.

In late July, McConnell said he planned to complete the six-year term he won in the 2020 election.

Asked about the subject on Thursday, Beshear said, “Well, I don’t respect Senator McConnell and his health — number one, not to sensationalize and number two, there’s no vacancy. So he said he was going to serve his term and I fully believe him.

State laws vary when it comes to filling congressional vacancies, and the Kentucky General Assembly changed its procedures in 2021 after the GOP-controlled legislature was able to override Beshear’s veto on a bill. legislation that limited the governor’s power to temporarily fill a vacant seat in the Senate.

Under the amended law, the governor selects a Senate appointee from a list of three names submitted by the state executive committee of the party affiliated with the incumbent senator.

Kentucky state law previously allowed the governor to appoint a replacement for a vacant Senate seat until the next general House election, which is held every two years.

In a veto statement, Beshear cited the state Constitution in suggesting that the bill “inappropriately and unconstitutionally” limits the governor’s power to fill Senate vacancies.

The bill “upsets a century of precedent by delegating the power to select the representative of all Kentuckians to an unelected and irresponsible committee of an organization that represents only a fraction of Kentuckians,” he said. in the press release.

McConnell’s first block on camera came in July at a press conference on Capitol Hill, with the senator stopping abruptly, staring blankly, until he was briefly escorted away. After returning, he appeared to ignore the incident, telling reporters, “I’m fine.”

A similar episode occurred in Kentucky on Wednesday when he stood still and didn’t speak for more than 30 seconds after a reporter asked if he planned to run for office in 2026.

In a statement on Thursday, U.S. Capitol attending physician Brian Monahan said McConnell was “medically cleared” to continue working after speaking with the senator’s neurology team who were treating him for a concussion after a fall in March.

Kentucky has not had a Democratic senator since 1999, following the retirement of the then senator. Wendell Ford.

Beshear faces a tough re-election campaign in the Republican-dominated state. In November, he faces Attorney General Daniel Cameron, backed by former President Donald Trump.