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Sen. Rand Paul said he isn’t buying the diagnosis of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell by the U.S. Capitol’s top doctor following a second freezing episode last week.
Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, said Mr. McConnell’s latest on-camera paralysis was the result of “lightheadedness” in connection to recovering from a concussion incurred by the 81-year-old during a fall earlier this year and that dehydration may have played a part.
“Everybody’s seen the clips,” Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican and an ophthalmologist by trade, told reporters Tuesday. “It’s not a valid medical diagnosis for people to say that’s dehydration.”
After consulting with Mr. McConnell’s neurology team and examining the Kentucky Republican, Dr. Monahan ruled out the possibility of a stroke, a seizure and Parkinson’s disease.
Mr. Paul has emerged as one of Mr. McConnell’s loudest critics as the GOP leader and his deputies work to reassure Republican colleagues that he’s fit to continue serving in his leadership role.
“I don’t think it’s been particularly helpful to have the Senate doctor describing it as dehydration, which I think even a non-physician, seeing that, probably aren’t really accepting that explanation,” Mr. Paul said. “I think it’d be better to be forthcoming about what’s going on with health problems.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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