Former US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stayed in China on a family trip while her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell, was hospitalised, with her spokesperson saying his condition did not warrant an "immediate return". The matter matters because McConnell, 84, is the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in history, and the lack of official detail about his health has fuelled public speculation about his fitness to continue serving.

McConnell was found unconscious at home on 14 June and taken to hospital, where leaked emergency dispatch audio suggested he may have suffered a heart attack. He has now entered his third week in hospital, with his office declining to specify his condition or a return date, saying only that he "continues to improve". The information vacuum has drawn unverified online claims, including a commentator's assertion that he is "brain dead", which the White House did not address. Chao has since returned to the United States; McConnell is expected to retire at the end of his term this year.