{"id":895957,"date":"2026-09-14T23:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T23:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895957\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T23:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T23:14:10","slug":"mitch-mcconnell-returns-to-the-senate-after-three-month-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895957\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate after three-month absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to Capitol Hill on Monday for the first time after a three-month absence<\/a> due to health issues.\n <\/p>\n

\n McConnell arrived at the Capitol for the evening vote series in a wheelchair, his appearance noticeably thinner and his speech slower than before his prolonged absence. The 84-year-old was hospitalized<\/a> on June 14, but did not initially disclose the reason for the hospitalization, leading to weeks of speculation over his health status.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Kentucky Republican briefly spoke to reporters upon his return Monday, saying it\u2019s \u201ctime to get back to work,\u201d but he did not answer questions, including whether he should have been more transparent about his health during his absence.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI must admit, after two years \u2014 two decades, actually \u2014 dodging your questions, I wasn\u2019t sure how many of you would be here today, but I\u2019m glad to see you,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cTime to get back to work, finish the job for this Congress,\u201d he said, pointing to passing the annual farm bill and aiding Ukraine in its war against Russia.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven\u2019t made it any easier,\u201d McConnell said in a statement released as he was en route to the Capitol.\n <\/p>\n

\n He said he\u2019s \u201cstill not quite back to 100%,\u201d but he assured Senate Majority Leader John Thune that \u201cas 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.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Thune said he is \u201chopeful\u201d he can rely on McConnell\u2019s presence at votes, but \u201cas much as he can do, we welcome having him here.\u201d The South Dakota Republican noted they spoke last week.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe was asking a lot of questions about the campaigns, and, you know, he\u2019s still dialed into all that stuff,\u201d Thune said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Several weeks after his hospitalization, McConnell released a statement revealing he had suffered a fall<\/a> and later contracted pneumonia. The former Senate GOP leader said he had been \u201cbriefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n On August 6, McConnell announced he would continue his recovery at home<\/a> after a stint in a rehabilitation facility following his hospitalization.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Senate returned to session in Washington, DC, on Monday after a five-week summer recess.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Kentucky Republican\u2019s lengthy absence from Capitol Hill and the delay in disclosing why he had been hospitalized led to widespread speculation about his health and calls for greater transparency.\n <\/p>\n

\n In July, Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter<\/a> to McConnell, saying that residents of the state \u201chave grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office in the United States Senate.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,\u201d he wrote.\n <\/p>\n

\n McConnell announced last year<\/a> he would not run for reelection in 2026. Republican Rep. Andy Barr, endorsed by Trump, will take on Democratic former state lawmaker Charles Booker in the November election to replace the longtime senator.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN previously reported<\/a> that emergency responders took McConnell to an ambulance on a stretcher after being called to his home in June for a report of an unconscious person, according to video of the incident and an eyewitness account.\n <\/p>\n

\n In McConnell\u2019s July statement, he said he was \u201cbriefly unconscious\u201d after he fell, but said his doctors \u201cconfirmed that I didn\u2019t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn\u2019t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don\u2019t have any tumors or hemorrhages.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Along with his own statement, McConnell included a note from the attending physician of Congress, who described the injuries after the fall at his Washington home as \u201cminor.\u201d The physician added that \u201cMcConnell has experienced several falls throughout the year that have been attributed to his post-polio condition.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The former Senate GOP leader is a childhood polio survivor, and has faced a series of health issues<\/a> in recent years, including multiple falls. In 2023, he froze midsentence<\/a> during a press conference in the Capitol.\n <\/p>\n

\n In July, McConnell indirectly addressed why it took so long to share what sent him to the hospital.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct \u2014 I can\u2019t help it,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n He added, \u201cYou\u2019re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work. But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to Capitol Hill on Monday for the first time after a three-month absence due…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":895958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-895957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}