Video Shows Mitch McConnell Being Prompted as He Casts Tie-Breaking Farm Bill Vote
A stunning video circulating on social media appears to show a staffer and two others telling longtime Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) how to vote on a bill.
The clip of the Senate’s Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee shows McConnell, 84, seated at the corner of a long table packed with senators, looking toward committee chair Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) as his name is called for the vote.
McConnell — who has served in Congress for 42 years — then appears to be prompted by three people, including Boozman, before voting Wednesday to advance the bill out of committee.
The vote ended a deadlock in the committee. The bill has faced opposition from Democrats who say it doesn’t tackle issues created by changes to funding in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
It was McConnell’s first day back at work since June, when he was hospitalized after a reported fall in his home that prompted a weeks-long absence.
He was rolled into Capitol Hill in a wheelchair, photos showed.
The farm bill vote is not the first time concerning video of McConnell on the job has surfaced.
Footage obtained by TMZ DC last month showed McConnell mostly sitting next to a staffer during a lengthy June 4 session, during which Senators voted more than two dozen times.
At one point, McConnell is seen giving a “thumbs up” to indicate a positive vote, then walking away with an aide before a Senate clerk appeared to speak to them, the outlet reported.
McConnell then appeared to switch his vote.
Another time, a clerk seemed to signal to McConnell which way to vote, indicating he should vote nay.
A rep for McConnell did not immediately respond to Mediaite’s request for comment on the Farm Bill vote.
McConnell was reportedly found unconscious in his Washington, D.C., home on June 14 and hadn’t been to work since.
His office repeatedly refused to give detailed answers about his whereabouts or later, his health status, at times issuing the same verbatim statements before ultimately releasing two different photos of McConnell with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
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