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The former Senate leader was first admitted to the hospital on
June 14. He disclosed weeks later that his hospitalization was
the result of a fall and said he was undergoing physical
therapy.
McConnell, 84, gave no specific date for his return to the
Capitol, but senators are expected to soon leave Washington for
the traditional August recess. Votes are unlikely for the next
five weeks once they adjourn.
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen
of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and
I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on
important Senate business," McConnell said in a statement
released by his office.
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long
acknowledged some difficulty walking and climbing stairs as an
adult. The Office of the Attending Physician has said McConnell
was undergoing a strenuous course of physical therapy and
rehabilitation since he left the hospital, which includes
multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce
the risk of future falls.
The senator is determined to finish out his seventh term, which
concludes in January.
McConnell’s absence is being felt in the Senate as Republicans
were unable to advance a farm bill out of committee Thursday.
The committee's chairman, Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, said he
spoke with McConnell this week about the bill.
“I know how much he would have wanted to be here to advocate for
Kentucky’s farmers and rural communities,” Boozman said in
kicking off the committee's meeting Thursday.
But there has also been criticism that McConnell has not been
transparent enough about his health. The state's Democratic
governor, Andy Beshear, recently called on the senator to either
prove that he is fit to continue serving after his lengthy
hospital stay or resign from office.
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