Despite calls for Beshear to 'do something' about Mitch McConnell

A lot of people are asking Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to "do something" about U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's absence from the Senate.
Former Illinois Republican congressman turned political commentator Adam Kinzinger said on Threads Tuesday: "I think the Governor of Kentucky has every right and responsibility to either see Mitch or declare the seat vacant."
Three hours later, the post had more than 7,000 likes.
With the longtime Republican senator's absence from the Senate passing the one-month mark, the online pressure on Beshear seems to be growing. McConnell was hospitalized on June 14.
On July 12, McConnell's office shared a statement and photo of the senator, which said he had moved from being a hospital patient to "a rehabilitation center where I will keep regaining my strength." A spokesperson for McConnell told the Lantern Tuesday that McConnell's "continues to improve and we will be sure to keep you updated" before referring to the July 12 statement.
"The governor has not received any communication whatsoever," said Scottie Ellis, Beshear spokesperson, Tuesday afternoon.
Stephen Voss, a professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said that the pressure puts the governor in a "tough position."
Beshear said in an interview with journalist Katie Couric last week that he had gotten calls from unnamed agencies "suggesting that (McConnell) passed."
To begin with, legal experts say, Beshear has no authority to take any action on McConnell's seat until the senator has resigned or died.
But in 2024, Kentucky's GOP-controlled General Assembly passed a law that requires the governor to call a special election to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat and allow the winner to serve until the end of the unexpired term.
"If Beshear is able to wait it out a little bit longer, then ultimately he can take credit for maybe trying to get around that law," Voss said.
Al Cross, a longtime Kentucky political journalist and columnist, said McConnell is a "national Democratic bogeyman."
"I do think that if it had been Rand Paul, for example, we would not have seen the kind of pressure that we see now," Cross said.
Denis Fleming, who has served as legal counsel in multiple Kentucky Democratic governor administrations, agreed with Snyder. He said Beshear has "little, if any, authority at this point" to declare McConnell's seat vacant.
"The governor, from my perspective, is being, I think, properly cautious," Fleming said.