Mitch McConnell casts decisive vote to move Senate farm bill out of committee

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader from Kentucky, voted on Sept. 16 to help the Senate Agriculture Committee advance a farm bill, moving the legislation out of committee with a 12-11 margin. The vote came two days after McConnell returned to the Senate on Sept. 14 following a hospital stay for a fall and pneumonia.

Republican members voted along party lines, while Democrats opposed the measure. McConnell, who cast his vote while seated in a wheelchair, raised his finger and later said "aye" when his name was called a second time.

"I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues," McConnell said in a statement released on Sept. 14.

"My hope is the bill receives robust bipartisan support on the Senate floor and demonstrates our commitment to our Nation’s farmers and rural communities," he added in a later social-media post.

The farm bill encompasses national agriculture, nutrition, conservation and forestry policy and is expected to be debated further on the Senate floor.