this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2026
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Punchbowl News reports that the former Senate majority leader, who is retiring after his current term ends in January, lost consciousness at his Washington, D.C., home at 8:36 a.m. on June 14, before a dispatcher sent over an Advanced Life Support ambulance. Journalist Desiree Townsend posted a recording of the call from the emergency dispatcher Tuesday afternoon to X.

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[–] bold_atlas@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You know, dying in office used to be notable and fairly uncommon. Mostly assassinations, plane accidents, etc.

But now our government is more of a hospice than anything else.

[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Please be dead please please please

[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

If he weren't, I feel like they would have said so.

[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Looks to me like he's probably brain dead and on life support. We can only hope 🙏

[–] TryingToBeGood@reddthat.com 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mitch, god is telling you to retire. Listen to her.

They are going to Bernie him until they can be sure they'd get another republican just as malicious as he was.

[–] NM_Gringo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We've reached peak Republican when we have to demand proof of life from the hospital for a GOP senator from a state with a Dem governor.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I predict Mitch showing up to the next senate vote wearing this

[–] NottaLottaOcelot@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago

Republicans would still vote for that over a Democrat

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

ah a wooden overcoat, excellent choice

[–] KulunkelBoom@lemmus.org 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

When asked if he enjoys having no power over the machine he helped create, he shat himself as opposed to his usual routine of pissing himself. The foul odor was a sign of distress.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 22 points 1 day ago

Why couldn't this have happened like, 20 years ago

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 66 points 2 days ago

He is one of the most responsible people for where American politics are today.
Absolutely no conscience and no morals, he is as close to pure evil a politician can get. He was among the main people that created the circumstances that allowed Trump to become president of USA.

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 27 points 1 day ago (7 children)

If I found him I'd have left him

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[–] jerome@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago
[–] tanisnikana@lemmy.world 132 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Don’t party, he’s still alive, and an absolute disgrace to turtles.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
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[–] cmbabul@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 day ago

Correct, I still have to find his final phylactery and destroy it, this happened right after I got to the penultimate

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[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 39 points 2 days ago (12 children)

We need term limits for Congress.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 18 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I think Congress needs age limits more than term limits.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

I disagree. Age limits would disallow competent people who happen to be old from serving (Bernie, for instance). Age does not correlate well to competency, but if you're young you might believe that. Competency itself can't be measured well enough by a test to be meaningful, so that is out.

There already is an effective age limit in that people typically run for office the first time when they're relatively young, and a term limit would kick them out before they got old. Old people running for the first time would likely be seen as out of touch, unless they make compelling arguments (again, see Bernie), and so would not be elected.

Having only an age limit would still allow people decades to entrench themselves and do great damage.

In short, the problem isn't competency, it's corruption. If anything, they're too competent at being corrupt. It's the same reason we have a term limit for the President, without the limit, we'd have Putin.

Finally, I think there's a chance term limits could pass, whereas an age limit wouldn't.

[–] diablomnky@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Maybe something along the lines of, if you're eligible to collect social security, then you're too old to serve in government.

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[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 64 points 2 days ago

He died as he lived. Holding up Senate business for his own personal bullshit reasons.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 39 points 2 days ago
[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 25 points 2 days ago (6 children)

At his funeral, throw a fire extinguisher in his grave. Where he is going, he will need it.

Don't waste a perfectly good fire extinguisher on that slug. Give him an empty one with a hole in the side, because that's about as much as he gave the citizens on the country.

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[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 56 points 2 days ago (2 children)

At what point is it elder abuse to let him keep trying to work as a senator?

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 day ago

Politicians should not be working right up to the moment of death.

Clearly the work isn't too difficult if these people are choosing not to retire. Clearly the pay and benefits (and under-the-table backroom dealing) is too sweet to pass up for a happy retirement.

I guess when you get so many days of paid vacation, healthcare, and access to billionaires bribing you with luxury vacations, who needs to retire? It's not like they're out there going door to door serving their constituents...

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 50 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Ask Dianne Feinstein. Staffers were dragging her hand to the vote-clicker by the end, because she could barely move herself.

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[–] jtrek@startrek.website 33 points 2 days ago (2 children)

He's a horrible person who deserves no peace and no dignity.

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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Sort of like Stalin, eh?

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