Three months after falling at his home, the timing of Senator Mitch McConnell's return to Congress remains uncertain as lawmakers prepare to reassemble in Washington. Staff for McConnell, 84, whose seventh and final term ends in January, declined to provide an update on the Kentucky Republican's possible return on Friday, referring Newsweek to a statement last month saying he would continue recovering at home after being discharged from a rehabilitation center. "No additional guidance or announcements," McConnell spokesman David Popp wrote.
McConnell's office previously announced he had been discharged on August 6, some 53 days after falling at his Washington home, where emergency personnel responded after receiving a 911 call regarding an unconscious person. "Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff," the lawmaker's statement said last month. "On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I'll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business." Staff for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has said that he has stayed in contact with McConnell throughout his three-month absence, also declined to comment Friday on his possible return, referring inquiries to McConnell's office.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who has criticized McConnell for a lack of clarity surrounding his condition, said he's received "zero communication" from the state's senior senator as of Friday. "Absolutely none," Beshear said in an interview with Newsweek's Alex J. "We have had zero communication, but it's not that there's been zero direct communication with me.
It's that there's been zero direct communication with the people of Kentucky. The people of Kentucky are his boss, and any of your viewers or readers who were gone from work for three months would owe a direct explanation, would have to get on the phone, would have to show up. That's all we're asking of Mitch McConnell.
And if he's not willing to do it, he should resign." Beshear, a Democrat elected to a second term in 2023, criticized McConnell and his Republican colleagues for letting the extended absence continue without a full explanation to voters. John Thune, as the Republican leader of the Senate, has a duty to make sure that every single one of the Senate has the capacity to serve," the governor said. "To my knowledge, he hasn't gone to see Mitch directly.
He should do that, and if Mitch does not have the capacity, he ought to declare that vacancy, and then we can take steps." Citing unnamed GOP leadership sources, Punchbowl News reported Thursday that Senate Republicans were "tentatively preparing" for McConnell to return to Congress next week, ending the longest absence of his 41-year career as lawmakers wrap up a five-week summer recess. McConnell, who has been absent from the Senate since he was hospitalized on June 14 following a fall at his Washington, D.C., home, later disclosed that he had briefly lost consciousness and developed a mild case of pneumonia while hospitalized. He subsequently spent weeks in a rehabilitation facility before being discharged on August 6.
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