Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran insists that he is not retiring from Congress, despite widespread speculation about the veteran lawmaker’s health and political future.

The 79-year-old Cochran appeared frail and at times disoriented during a brief hallway interview on Wednesday. He was unable to answer whether he would remain chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and at one point, needed a staffer to remind him where the Senate chamber is located.


“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Cochran said in a low voice when asked whether he plans to retire after 44 years in office.

However, when queried about whether he would stay on as Appropriations chairman, Cochran seemed confused and just repeated the question. “As chairman of the Appropriations Committee?” Cochran asked.

Cochran had to be guided by staffers around a security checkpoint inside the Capitol. He started to walk into a first-floor room — though the Senate chamber is on the second floor. He was then ushered by an aide up to the Senate.

When another reporter asked whether leadership had pressured Cochran to return for a vote on the budget resolution — a key moment in the tax reform debate — Cochran smiled and responded, “It’s a beautiful day outside.”

Cochran sat quietly in his seat during Wednesday's lengthy vote session. He smiled and responded when a fellow senator stopped by to offer greetings, but generally did not speak to anyone else.

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On one amendment, Cochran voted “yes” despite being told by an aide to vote “no.” The staffer tried to get the senator to switch his vote, but Cochran kept flashing the “thumbs up” sign, even walking over to the clerk tallying the vote and doing so. GOP floor staffers repeatedly told him the leadership wanted a "no" vote. Several more moments passed before Cochran realized he was voting the wrong way and then changed his vote.

Cochran, who turns 80 in December, has faced questions about his health for the past several years. Cochran has been treated recently for urological problems, though his aides and political allies insisted he was fine. President Donald Trump last month spotlighted Cochran's health when he claimed that Obamacare repeal legislation would have passed had Cochran not been hospitalized. Cochran, though, wasn't in the hospital at that point.

Top Senate Republicans say they are not pressuring Cochran to retire or step down as Appropriations Committee chairman, a powerful perch from which he helps oversee hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending each year. Cochran made a career of steering federal dollars back home, working with former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) for years to ensure their state benefited from hundreds of “earmarks” inserted in annual appropriations bills.

The use of earmarks, which were banned in 2010 after the tea party movement helped Republicans regain control of Congress, helped make Cochran popular back home. He never faced a serious challenge from 1984 until 2014. But that year, conservative outside groups attacked him during the GOP primary and Cochran barely survived a runoff. He went on, however, to easily win the general election.

Cochran’s seat is viewed as particularly important, given that the GOP establishment went all out to help him beat state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the 2014 primary.

Cochran is up for reelection in 2020, and Republicans are desperate for him to stay in office and avoid a special election. McDaniel already is planning a campaign against incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in 2018.

Cochran was first elected to Congress in 1972, making him one of the longest serving GOP lawmakers in history. His election to the Senate in Mississippi in 1978 was a watershed moment for Republicans. Cochran was the first Republican to win a statewide election in Mississippi since Reconstruction.

Now, the state is overwhelmingly red, with the GOP controlling the governorship, Legislature and congressional delegation. President Donald Trump easily carried the state in the 2016 presidential election.

The Senate has had other once-vibrant members who faced questions about whether they still had the capacity to serve as they aged. The late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) served until the age of 100, but was forced to give up the chairmanship of Armed Services. Another legendary lawmaker, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) was eventually replaced as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

