'Somebody needs to do something': GOP senators split as Tuberville demands McConnell answers

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is calling for more information about Sen. Mitch McConnell's, R-Ky., prolonged absence from the Senate, while Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., urged people to "leave Mitch alone" as questions about the Kentucky Republican's health persist.

"Somebody needs to do something," Tuberville told Fox News Digital. "Somebody needs to come out."

McConnell finally broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. In a post to social media, McConnell said he would not be returning to the Senate floor just yet due to doctors' orders, but vowed he would return to "finish the job" before his announced retirement at the end of his term.

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Tuberville said no additional information from Senate leadership about a timeline for when McConnell may come back or the status of his health has been given out internally to his colleagues.

"We didn't get any information today in our luncheon," Tuberville said Tuesday. "I don't know what's going on, but you know that's not my business."

Meanwhile, Kennedy vehemently defended McConnell, dismissing rumors that the 84-year-old senator was in a vegetative state, or even dead, as some had speculated a more serious condition than what was disclosed.

"Look, I believe Mitch," Kennedy said. "I don't believe all these stories that he's brain dead and all of that. People need to get a life."

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In his post, McConnell claimed that his childhood fight with polio contributed to a fall that left him "briefly unconscious" and hospitalized last month — when some speculated he had suffered cardiac arrest. He said he was then hit with a "mild case of pneumonia" while in recovery, extending the healing process.

"I think he had a fall, and Mitch is not 29 anymore," Kennedy said. "And he's recuperating from it, and he'll be back as soon as he can."

He continued, "That's what he said, and I take him at his word."

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While Tuberville also expressed his well-wishes for McConnell’s recovery, he said more information about his timeline for return needs to be shared before the Senate begins August recess — when senators will take a break to head back to their home states from Aug. 8 to Sept. 13.

"He's gonna need to come back probably before this three-week session’s over with, because then we're off for like five weeks," Tuberville said.

Tuberville said Republicans will need McConnell back as the Senate prepares for votes on President Donald Trump's legislative agenda before lawmakers leave for the August recess. McConnell has not indicated when he expects to return.

"We're gonna need him, because the Democrats are not gonna give us any votes," Tuberville said.