Details scarce as Mitch McConnell ‘continues recovery’ in hospital | Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell’s staff said last week that the Kentucky senator “continues to recover” in the hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader’s condition during his weeks-long hospital stay or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was hospitalized on June 14 and said only that he “received excellent care,” according to a statement from his office. In a statement made a week later, he said that he would not vote that week. And a new statement on Thursday said he “continues to improve” and “appreciates the support he has received as he continues to recover in the hospital.”
His office has not released any updates since then, and a spokesman did not return a request for comment Monday.
The senator’s unspecified health problems came to light after multiple hospitalizations in recent years, and Senate Republicans already hold a narrow majority in the final months before the midterm elections.
Before leaving that post, McConnell, 84, was the longest-serving Senate leader in history. He is serving his final term, which ends in January.
While still the Republican leader, McConnell was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after crashing in a Washington hotel. Upon his return, he twice froze at press conferences that summer, staring ahead before colleagues and staff came to his aid.
A year later, he fell and sprained his ankle while leaving the GOP luncheon.
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged some difficulty walking and climbing stairs as an adult. He also tripped and fell at his home in Kentucky in 2019 and had surgery for a shoulder fracture.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, during which time he served as majority and minority leader.
He has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, coming to work when the legislature is in session and often using a wheelchair to get around.
