NCS moved Friday to make clear that conservative political commentator Scott Jennings’ claims about speaking with hospitalized Senator Mitch McConnell do not signify the network’s personal reporting, based on a press release the network offered to The Daily Beast.
Jennings, a longtime McConnell ally and former senior adviser to the Kentucky Republican, claimed on Tuesday that he had spoken with McConnell by cellphone for roughly 17 minutes whereas the senator remained hospitalized. During the decision, Jennings stated McConnell mentioned Iran, Ukraine, and different present points, and indicated he was “feeling OK” and assembly with senior employees about Senate enterprise.
However, NCS’s response made clear the network had not independently verified Jennings’ account. “As a NCS Political Commentator, Scott Jennings is not a full-time employee or journalist for the network,” the network’s spokesperson stated. “His account of a personal conversation with Senator McConnell reflects his experience and is not NCS reporting.”
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14 for an undisclosed medical situation. The 84-year-old senator’s workplace has launched minimal public details about his hospitalization or well being standing, fueling weeks of hypothesis. On Friday, footage emerged exhibiting McConnell being loaded into an ambulance exterior his Washington residence, with accompanying 911 dispatch audio indicating a report of an unconscious individual in cardiac arrest.
Jennings’ claims prompted NCS host Kasie Hunt to problem him on air to name McConnell stay throughout the broadcast to confirm his account. Jennings declined, saying he had not anticipated McConnell to name him that morning. The incident highlighted the problem in confirming details about the senator’s situation, as his workplace has offered few particulars past acknowledging his hospitalization.
McConnell has a historical past of well being challenges. In February 2026, he was hospitalized for eight days with what his workplace described as flu-like signs. In 2023, he was hospitalized after struggling a minor rib fracture and concussion in a fall, and he has skilled a number of public incidents of freezing throughout speeches. As a polio survivor, McConnell has lengthy acknowledged mobility challenges, although he has continued his Senate duties regardless of these well being issues.
Sources
- Yahoo News — NCS’s assertion clarifying that Jennings’ claims about McConnell do not represent network reporting
- The Daily Beast — NCS’s official response distancing the network from Jennings’ account
- USA Today — Jennings’ declare of a 17-minute cellphone name with McConnell and NCS’s on-air problem to confirm it
- People.com — Details of Jennings’ assertion in regards to the cellphone name and the on-air problem from NCS host Kasie Hunt
- NCS — Footage of McConnell being loaded into an ambulance and 911 dispatch info
- Reuters — McConnell’s hospitalization on June 14 and neighbors’ observations of him being transported on a stretcher
- Politico — McConnell’s earlier hospitalization in February 2026 for flu-like signs