WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he is returning to his DC home after nearly two months following an incident in mid-June when he was found “unconscious” and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
McConnell, 84, said that he will continue to recover at home — without immediately saying when he would return to the Senate — following his hospital stay and subsequent time at a rehabilitation center.
“Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff,” added the former Senate majority leader.
“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 also said.
That means the former Republican leader will likely not be present to vote to confirm Todd Blanche for the next US attorney general, though McConnell has been voting by proxy in some committees.
On June 14, dispatchers sent an ambulance to McConnell’s residence to respond to a possible cardiac event.
The Kentucky Republican wasn’t heard from for almost a month after that, when his office released a statement on July 12 claiming he had suffered “minor injuries” due to a fall and then contracted pneumonia.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” the senator said in the statement.
“But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia,” McConnell added.
In releasing the statement, the senator was seated next to his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, in a hospital bed, holding in his right hand a copy of The Washington Post’s sports section of the same date.
Rumors had spread online in the weeks following the 911 call that McConnell was “brain dead,” though Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and others said they had spoken with him during his hospital stay.
This also wasn’t his first health scare, with McConnell having experienced freeze-ups during speeches as well as a concussion and minor rib fracture following a fall at a fundraiser in 2023.
During McConnell’s hospital and rehab center stay, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suddenly passed away from an aortic tear on July 11, caused by chronic heart disease.
The death came the day before McConnell’s office released a statement from the senator.
