{"id":346784,"date":"2026-09-14T22:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346784\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T22:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:46:09","slug":"mitch-mcconnell-returns-to-the-senate-after-three-month-absence-nbc-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346784\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate after three-month absence \u2013 NBC New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since June 14, when he was hospitalized after a fall in his home.<\/p>\n

McConnell’s three-month absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as the Kentucky senator initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed that he had been \u201cbriefly unconscious\u201d due to the fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven\u2019t made it any easier,” McConnell said in a statement Monday. \u201cI\u2019m still not quite back to 100%, but I\u2019ve assured Leader Thune that, as 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<\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I\u2019m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues.<\/p>\n

My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven\u2019t made\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (@SenMcConnell) September 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The concerns over McConnell\u2019s absence highlighted increasing public concern about the age of lawmakers and their capacity to carry out their duties. Speculation about his condition grew so intense at one point that Kentucky\u2019s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear took the extraordinary step of issuing a public letter asking McConnell to update the public in a \u201ctransparent manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

McConnell\u2019s absence was also felt over the summer as Republicans were unable to advance a farm bill out of committee. His return could give GOP leaders a needed vote as they try to advance legislation on cryptocurrency regulation and college sports.<\/p>\n

McConnell, who holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Senate leader, is in his final months of his four decades in office. He is retiring at the end of January after one of the most consequential careers in modern politics.<\/p>\n

Republicans have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to replace him, while Democrats have nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. McConnell said he is determined to finish out his term.<\/p>\n

McConnell’s past health issues<\/p>\n

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs.<\/p>\n

The physician\u2019s office in Congress in the July statement said McConnell has \u201cexperienced several falls through the year\u201d due to his \u201cpost-polio condition.\u201d The office said his physical therapy was aimed at reducing the risk of him falling again.<\/p>\n

\u201cA comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage,\u201d the physician\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But the senator\u2019s physical condition has visibly declined in recent years.<\/p>\n

He was hospitalized 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 fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since June…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[858,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-346784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-congress","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}