WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Sen. on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of about the Kentucky Republican鈥檚 health.
McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he was 鈥渂riefly unconscious鈥� around the time he was first taken to the hospital and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.
鈥淢y doctors have confirmed that I didn鈥檛 break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn鈥檛 have a heart attack or a stroke. I don鈥檛 have any tumors or hemorrhages,鈥� McConnell said, adding that he is now 鈥渞egaining my strength.鈥�
McConnell鈥檚 statement came on the heels of the of South Carolina. McConnell said he cannot return to the Senate 鈥渜uite yet.鈥�
Coupled with Graham鈥檚 passing, that will temporarily whittle the GOP majority in that chamber down by two, to 51-47, as Republicans try to increase military funding, advance President Donald Trump鈥檚 agenda and confirm Trump’s nominees.
McConnell explained the four-week silence about his condition by saying that 鈥渇olks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older.鈥�
鈥淓ven in the public eye, I feel that same instinct 鈥� I can鈥檛 help it,鈥� he said.
McConnell said he will continue to work with his staff on Senate business. His statement included a smiling picture of the senator with his wife Elaine Chao, a tacit response to speculation online that McConnell had died or was incapacitated.
McConnnell’s disclosure comes after growing pressure
McConnell had provided little information since his hospitalization on June 14, his office insisting only that he was 鈥渞eceiving excellent care鈥� and recovering. Speculation about his condition grew so intense that Kentucky鈥檚 Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear took the extraordinary step last week of issuing a public letter asking McConnell to update the public in a 鈥渢ransparent manner.鈥�
McConnell is of January after one of the most consequential careers in modern politics. Republicans have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to replace him, while Democrats have nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. He said he is determined to finish out his term.
鈥淚 still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf,鈥� McConnell wrote in the statement addressed to Kentuckians, 鈥渁nd I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.鈥�
McConnell has a history of health problems
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs.
The physician鈥檚 office in Congress in the statement Sunday said McConnell has 鈥渆xperienced several falls through the year鈥� due to his 鈥減ost-polio condition.鈥� The office said his physical therapy is aimed at reducing the risk of him falling again.
鈥淎 comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage,” the physician’s office said.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 , serving as both majority and minority leader during that period. He has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, often using a wheelchair to get around.
But the senator鈥檚 physical condition has visibly declined in recent years.
He was with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. He twice froze up during news conferences after he returned, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff. A year later, he while walking out of a GOP luncheon.
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