Former South Carolina Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would “love to see” outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) run for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) seat after the 84-year-old lawmaker recently suffered a medical emergency, which she claims the Republican Party has not addressed adequately.
“Thomas Massie would make a great senator,” Greene told TMZ in an on-the-street interview on Tuesday, saying the same would be true of anybody else who “rejects [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] money.”
The former congresswoman claimed the Republican establishment “stole” Massie’s seat when it backed his primary opponent, former Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein, who President Donald Trump also supported.
“They ran an Israeli operation on him with three billionaire Israeli donors, and they totally stole that seat from Kentucky,” she said.
After losing the Republican primary in Kentucky two months ago, Massie is on his way out of Congress unless he decides to run for McConnell’s seat if it becomes vacant due to the senator’s ailing health.
Massie is open to running for his House seat again in 2028, as indicated in paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission in May, but he has yet to make a decision about which political office he seeks. He has not ruled out a 2028 presidential run.
Greene said she has not spoken with Massie about a potential Senate run.
McConnell has been hospitalized since June 14 due to an undisclosed medical emergency that has kept him from performing his duties as a senator. His office has provided updates on his condition, saying that he is receiving “excellent care” and “continues to improve” without offering a timeline for his return to work.
Republicans haven’t commented on McConnell’s health very much because the cause of his hospitalization remains a secret. Greene blasted her former party over the alleged cover-up.
“Shame on the Republican Party for just basically staying silent while such a powerful Republican senator is basically laying in a hospital like a vegetable,” she said, referencing unverified rumors that McConnell is brain-dead.
“It doesn’t surprise me from the establishment because this is what they support,” she added. “They support people holding on to power until they’re practically dead or do die in office, and this is why the state of our country is so pathetic.”
Greene also excoriated McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing three days after McConnell was hospitalized.
Notably, Greene accused Chao of being a “possible communist Chinese spy” for traveling to China instead of tending to her ill husband.
“What woman leaves her husband’s side while he is dead or dying in the hospital, flies to China, and meets with the vice president?” she asked. “Answer me that.”
WHAT IS MITCH MCCONNELL’S STATUS WEEKS AFTER EMERGENCY HOSPITALIZATION?
The seven-term senator has dealt with numerous health problems over the past few years. He suffered a concussion and a broken rib after a fall in 2023, experienced two widely publicized freezing episodes that year, and sprained his wrist in another fall at the U.S. Capitol in 2024. As a result of the recent falls and his history with polio as a child, he began using a wheelchair. He was also hospitalized earlier this year with flu-like symptoms.
McConnell is not seeking reelection and is set to retire in January 2027. If he cannot finish his term, a special election to fill the vacancy would be triggered under Kentucky law. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) cannot unilaterally appoint a replacement due to state law.