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President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he would remove Syria from the U.S.’s list of state sponsors of terrorism for the first time in nearly five decades.

“I think I will, yeah,” Trump said when asked if he would rescind Syria’s designation while sitting alongside Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey. “Why wouldn’t I? He’s done a great job … I think we should. Yeah, I will.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed later Wednesday that Trump had informed Congress of his Administration’s intent to take Syria off the list. Congress now has a 45-day window in which it could attempt to block Trump’s request before it takes effect.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said in a statement. “A stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors benefits not only the region, but the entire world.”

He noted that the decision followed “positive changes and counterterrorism actions” taken under al-Sharaa, who Rubio said has made “formal assurances” that his country “will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”

The move could help enable Syria’s reintegration into the global economy, opening the door for greater international investment, trade, and stability in the country as it recovers from a nearly 14-year civil war.

In a bipartisan letter urging the Administration to remove Syria from the list last week, a trio of lawmakers noted that U.S. financial institutions have made clear that the country’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is “a key remaining roadblock to Syria’s financial connectivity, which is needed to facilitate private sector investment and billions of dollars pledged for economic recovery.”

“Syria’s SST designation represents the most significant remaining legal impediment to Syria’s reconstruction,” read the letter, from Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. “Its removal could create new opportunity for foreign investment, economic development and capacity building to ensure the Syrians can remain capable and willing partners to the United States.”

Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979 under the rule of Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, who continued leading the country until he died in 2000 and was succeeded in the presidency by his son. The U.S. increased sanctions against Syria in 2004 and again in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, contributing to the Syrian population becoming all but entirely cut off from the world economy. 

Al-Sharaa himself was previously designated on terrorist lists by the U.S. and the United Nations along with the Islamist militant group he led during the civil war, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group originated as an affiliate of al-Qaeda under a different name, before breaking ties and establishing itself as the dominant rebel group in northwest Syria, where it fought against Assad’s forces, ISIS, and rival factions.

Despite his role in toppling Assad’s brutal and widely hated regime, Sharaa’s ascension and tenure as Syria’s leader has been controversial due to his past. In addition to its prior ties to al-Qaeda, HTS has been accused by the UN and other organizations of human rights abuses against women and children, as well as torturing and executing detainees.

Trump previously signed an Executive Order lifting most of the U.S. sanctions against Syria last June, similarly citing “positive actions taken by the new Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.” The order, which Rubio referenced in his Wednesday statement, additionally directed the Secretary of State to review the country’s designation as a state sponsor of terror and other sanctions.

Months later, in November, the United Nations Security Council adopted a U.S.-backed resolution to lift sanctions against al-Sharaa. The State Department removed al-Sharaa from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list the same month, days before his visit to the White House—the first official visit a Syrian president had made to Washington since the country gained independence in 1946. 

Congress then in December approved repealing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which was enacted during Trump’s first Administration and imposed sweeping sanctions against Syria under the previous government led by President Bashar al-Assad.

“In the past year and a half, we have achieved a great accomplishment in unifying the country and setting it on the right path,” al-Sharaa said while speaking beside Trump on Wednesday. "This is thanks to the strong Syrian people and to the historic decision made by Trump to lift the sanctions on Syria. "It is also thanks to the help of all our friends in the region.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear intensified calls for an update from Sen. Mitch McConnell on Wednesday, asking him to be “transparent” after a mysterious medical crisis left the senator hospitalized—and absent from public view—for weeks.

“Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office in the United States Senate,” Beshear said in a statement, addressing McConnell, a former Majority Leader who represents the Bluegrass State. “As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health.”

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The 84-year-old has been hospitalized for more than three weeks. He was admitted June 14 amid circumstances that were at first opaque—with his office sharing only that he was admitted to the hospital and was “receiving excellent care”—but turned critical when official audio from the day’s events was posted on X by journalist Desirée Townsend. In it, an Emergency Medical Services dispatcher can be heard saying that there was a call for a “cardiac arrest,” and a paramedic can later be heard saying “CPR in progress.” The recording raised questions about the severity of the emergency and prompted fresh speculation about the senator's current condition.

"Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he's receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital," a McConnell spokesperson said on July 2. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session."

GOP lawmakers insist McConnell is 'fully engaged'

In an effort to reassure the public amid relative silence from McConnell’s camp, several prominent Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators have said that they spoke with McConnell, describing him as alert.

“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital,” conservative commentator Scott Jennings said on X on Tuesday. “We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history.”

Kate Cooksey Noyes, a spokesperson for Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, also shared that Barrasso spoke with McConnell in a “lengthy conversation.”

“Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate,” she said. 

McConnell’s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, replied to inquiries about her husband’s condition on Tuesday—while responding to criticism about her choice to remain abroad during his health crisis. She told local news in Kentucky that his “health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.” while she was on what she described as a “long-planned trip to China.”

McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for an update on his health.

The situation raises broader questions about what an elected official owes constituents when it comes to disclosures about their health. 

“I think he deserves the time to recover and heal from whatever he is dealing with,” Republican National Convention Chair Joe Gruters said on News Nation when asked if the public deserves more information about McConnell than what has already been shared. “I have full trust in him.”

But if McConnell has been able to speak to his friends on the phone, “Why does the Senator remain unable to provide his own formal statement to those he represents?” inquired policy consultant and venture fund investor Adam Cochran in a post on X. 

Al Cross, a former professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky School of Journalism, has interviewed McConnell extensively in the last few months, and he argues that the senator’s silence is largely a matter of personal choice.

“He's a person who has a lot of pride. That kind of gets in the way of admitting infirmity, and he's always been very private about his health,” Cross said in a segment on CNN, which included Jennings. “However, when you say as little as he has said, you are simply letting conspiracy theories and speculation fill the vacuum, and when people deal primarily in speculation and conspiracy theories, that just adds to the distrust that people have of the political system and the people in it.”

Cross said that McConnell might also be avoiding questions that he does not have answers to, such as when he might be able to return to work.

“I find it interesting that he has not expressed that,” Cross added.

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McConnell’s absence has consequences for the GOP

McConnell announced in February 2025 that he will not be running for reelection in November. Democrat Charles Booker, a former state representative, and U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican, will face off for his seat. 

However, if McConnell were to vacate his seat for health reasons, Beshear would be able to call for a special election to temporarily fill the role, according to a state law change in 2024.

The decision could impact midterm election outcomes, as Republicans strive to defend a thin majority in the Senate.

More immediately, McConnell's absence comes as Senate Republicans weigh defense spending measures: $80 billion in emergency spending, largely tied to the Iran War, and a proposed $350 billion reconciliation package that forms a key part of President Donald Trump's plan for securing a $1.5 trillion defense budget. The package has been a legislative priority for Trump, but senators—including McConnell—have expressed concerns.

McConnell questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the funding request during Senate hearings in May, saying that Pentagon budget items should not be separated out from the annual defense appropriations bill.

“If the department’s top priorities aren’t built into annual appropriations, we’re actually taking a big risk,” McConnell said at the time. “These key lines of effort only work if we put them on solid fiscal footing.”

“I would just suggest that it is taking a terrible risk and creates instability when you’re counting on a third reconciliation bill for the bulk of the money rather than doing base funding through the defense appropriations bill,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, told Air Force leaders at a budget request hearing in June.

Regardless, McConnell was widely expected to toe the party line. Without his vote, Majority Leader John Thune has even less of a margin of error when it comes to securing the majority necessary to pass the budget before midterms.

McConnell’s absence was already felt when four Republican senators crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats on the War Powers Resolution, which aims to block military action in Iran. Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania also missed the vote, leading to a narrow 50-48 defeat on June 23.

The Senate returns from its Independence Day recess on July 13.