Mitch McConnell Returns to Senate After Three-Month Recovery
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Senator Mitch McConnell resumed his Senate duties on Monday following a fall in June that kept him away for more than three months.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) returned to the Senate chamber on Monday after being absent since mid-June following a fall that left him briefly unconscious. In a statement, McConnell said he would cast his first vote since the accident and expressed eagerness to rejoin his colleagues on the floor.
"Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues," the senator wrote.
He noted that his recovery had been “a long and frustrating process” and was complicated by lingering effects of childhood polio. While still undergoing physical therapy, McConnell said he would strive to be present for critical votes.
"I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me," McConnell added.
The senator, who is 84 and announced his retirement at the end of the year, appeared in a wheelchair but declined to take questions from reporters. His return comes ahead of a markup of the farm bill in the Senate Agriculture Committee, where Republicans hold a narrow 12-11 majority and his vote could be decisive.
McConnell’s earlier hospitalization and rehabilitation had sparked public speculation about his fitness for office. In July, he said he delayed disclosing details because of the vulnerability associated with aging. The senator was first elected to the Senate in 1984, and Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) is the Republican nominee for the seat in the upcoming election.