Senator McConnell Remains in Rehab, Not Yet Cleared for Senate Return
US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell remains in a rehabilitation facility and has not yet been cleared to return to work, nearly six weeks after a fall at his home that left him briefly unconscious, according to statements from his office and the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP).
McConnell, 84, who has represented Kentucky in the Senate since 1985 and served as Senate majority leader, was admitted to the hospital on June 14 after the fall, which his office said left him “briefly unconscious.” While hospitalized, he developed a mild case of pneumonia, and on July 12 his office released an initial update indicating he was recovering at a rehab center.
In a statement published on his website on Monday — his second since the fall — McConnell said: “I’m still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders.”
The OAP said McConnell is “not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office,” explaining that “since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls.”
The update also touched on McConnell’s childhood polio, which the OAP said “continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.”
McConnell has missed 38 Senate votes during his absence, according to a count referenced in reports, and has not been seen in public since mid-June.
The statement arrives just before Kentucky’s annual Fancy Farm picnic, a political staple where state politicians traditionally give speeches. McConnell said he would miss the event: “There’s no place I’d rather be on the first Saturday in August than with the good people of western Kentucky, feasting on pork and mutton.” He added, “I hate that I’ll miss the fun this year, but I’m sending my best wishes to the St Jerome community for a successful picnic.”
McConnell, who announced earlier that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his term, has had a long political career marked by his leadership in the Senate and his influence over judicial appointments.
The ongoing health situation has drawn attention given McConnell’s leadership role and the narrow Republican majority in the Senate, though his office has not provided a timeline for his return.