Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is “perfectly capable” of continuing to serve after appearing to freeze up for the second time in a month, a GOP colleague said on Sunday.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told CNN’s Dana Bash that he spoke with McConnell on Saturday and informed the Kentucky Republican that he wanted to touch base before doing the interview.

“He was in good shape,” Rounds said. “He was direct. He said he fell. He said, ‘I had that concussion.’ And he said, ‘They warned me that I would be lightheaded in the future and that I have got to be aware of it.'”

Rounds added: “He said, ‘It happened twice.’ He said, ‘It just so happens I’m doing it in front of reporters.’ But he felt good yesterday. He said he’s got to watch his hydration levels.”

CNN reported that McConnell, 81, had fallen multiple times this year and sustained a concussion. The report came out in late July after McConnell appeared momentarily unable to respond to questions during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

Following a second incident last week — this one in Kentucky when McConnell paused for about thirty seconds when asked about his thoughts on running for re-election in 2026 — the attending physician of the U.S. Congress released a brief note.

BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Mitch McConnell appearing to have another scary episode in the media gaggle in Covington today. Aides had to step in to help him out and repeat questions. He was eventually lead away. We'll have the full video on @WLWT pic.twitter.com/q9ex5MHxLV

— Hannah Thomas (@HannahPThomas) August 30, 2023

“I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team. After evaluating (Wednesday’s) incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned,” said Dr. Brian Monahan. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.”

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Amid a renewed torrent of speculation about McConnell’s future and who might take his place as GOP leader in the Senate, Rounds insisted that McConnell would come back to Washington, D.C., and discuss the matter with his colleagues after the summer recess, during which the Kentucky Republican has been fundraising.

“Mitch is sharp, and he is shrewd. He understands what needs to be done. I will leave it up to him as to how he wants to discuss that with the American public,” Rounds said.

“But there’s no doubt in my mind that he is perfectly capable of continuing on at this stage of the game,” Rounds added. “And he’s got a good team around him. He’s done a good job of developing that leadership team. They have been supportive of him. During the time in which he was out of the center for a while, the team did a great job. My seatmate, John Thune here in South Dakota, picked up the reins and worked it well. And he had a great team around him as well. So I’m not worried about that at all. We have got a good team in place, and Mitch is there, and I think Mitch will be able to answer any questions that may come up.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) visited the town of Lahaina on Saturday to tour what he described as the “sheer devastation” inflicted by the deadly wildfires last month.

During the visit, McCarthy focused on how to help residents rebuild after a fire practically destroyed the entire city of Lahaina on the island of Maui, which experienced a series of blazes. He also vowed to get to the bottom of what many say is a lackluster response by all levels of government, vowing to use the resources of Congress to investigate. 

“We want to get the resources to individuals that could rebuild their life, we’ve got to focus on the children for the schools, get them back into the education so they don’t miss out,” McCarthy said. “We will investigate to find out why did it happen, what went right, what went wrong, so other communities won’t ever have to see this,” he later added. 

The California Republican said the House would look into various factors that may have led to the rapid spreading of the fire and the inability to contain it, including overhead power lines, invasive grasses, resources for the fire department, and the adequacy of the county building codes, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat. 

McCarthy was touring Lahaina with a bipartisan group of legislators, including Hawaii Democratic Rep. Jill Tokuda, Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Ohio Republican Rep. David Joyce, and Idaho Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher. The investigation, according to the Speaker, should also be a bipartisan effort. 

“I’m in Hawaii right now with a bipartisan group of lawmakers because tragedies unite us as Americans. This isn’t a place for partisan politics,” McCarthy posted to X along with photos of his visit. “It is a place to say thank you to the first responders and to act quickly for the survivors as they rebuild after the deadly fire.” 

I'm in Hawaii right now with a bipartisan group of lawmakers because tragedies unite us as Americans.

This isn’t a place for partisan politics. It is a place to say thank you to the first responders and to act quickly for the survivors as they rebuild after the deadly fire. pic.twitter.com/9CoYstMXSH

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 3, 2023

The death toll from the fires is at least 115, while there are 385 people still missing, according to numbers released by the FBI. But Hawaii Democratic Governor Josh Green says, “Exact numbers are going to take time, perhaps a long time, to become finalized.”

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Two weeks ago, McCarthy called for a congressional investigation into the fires, calling the federal government’s response “very delayed.” 

“We still have hundreds of individuals that are missing. I think there’s gonna have to be a congressional investigation in response of what happened. How could we lose that many Americans in today’s age?” McCarthy said at a Syracuse, New York, press conference. “The president’s response to have no comment? That’s unacceptable,” he added later. 

A week after McCarthy floated the idea, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) announced a probe into the federal government’s response to the tragedy, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation, “Americans, especially those impacted by this tragedy, deserve answers.” 

In addition to the Oversight Committee’s investigation, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) announced an inquiry into Hawaiian Electric. Rodgers sent a letter to the electric company, the State Energy Office, and the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission “seeking information regarding the role of electric infrastructure in the August fires that broke out.”