WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said last week that the senator is 鈥渃ontinuing his recovery鈥� in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader鈥檚 condition during his weekslong hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was on June 14, according to a statement from his office that only said he was 鈥渞eceiving excellent care.鈥� A statement a week later said that he would not be voting that week. And on Thursday, a new statement said that he 鈥渃ontinues to improve鈥� and 鈥漚ppreciates the outpouring of support he鈥檚 receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.鈥�
His office has not released any updates since then, and a spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on Monday.
The senator鈥檚 unspecified health issues come after several hospitalizations in recent years, and as Senate Republicans are already navigating a narrow majority in the final months before the midterm elections. McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role. He is serving out his final term, which ends in January.
While he was still Republican leader, McConnell was with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff came to his assistance. A year later, he while walking out of a GOP luncheon.
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs. He also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky and underwent surgery for a fractured shoulder.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, 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.
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