Republican Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) expressed his support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) amid his ongoing health issues.
On Sunday, Rounds spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” about McConnell’s condition and revealed he was told by the GOP leader he had previously suffered a concussion and was warned he’d be “lightheaded in the future.” McConnell attributed to his frozen state at two separate public appearances.
When asked whether he was comfortable with McConnell “staying on as leader,” Rounds responded, “Oh yes. No question.”
He continued:
“There’s a lot of folks out there who would like to see him go, but that’s because he’s a very capable leader. He’s one of these kind of guys that if you can take him out of the leadership role in advance, you might end up in a better position if you were a competitor of his. On the Republican side, we all understand that he’s good, he’s good for our party.”
Rounds also assured McConnell was “the right guy” in “the right spot.”
This came after Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, in an interview with Fox News, credited McConnell for some of the “great things” he has done, but stated, “You have to know when to leave.”
Additionally, she said she is “strongly in support of term limits in this country” and suggested “mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75.” Haley also stated she “wouldn’t care if they did them over the age of 50.”
“But these are people making decisions on our national security. They’re making decisions on our economy, on the border. We need to know they’re at the top of their game,” she continued.”
In a letter from Congress’ attending physician Dr. Brian Monahan, released through McConnell’s office, he noted McConnell was “medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned,” after evaluating the incident.
“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” Monahan added.