Mitch McConnell recovering at home, not ‘medically cleared’ to return to Senate
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been discharged from the hospital but isn't medically cleared to return to in-person Senate work, according to an update Monday.
McConnell, who has been out of action since he was hospitalized June 14 following a fall at home, issued a press release in which he said he won't be able to attend Fancy Farm, a major political gathering in Kentucky, on Aug. 1.
“I’m still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders. Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday,” McConnell. stated.
“When I first attended forty-two years ago, Fancy Farm was a pretty lonely place to be a Republican. But, my, how times have changed. Today, western Kentucky is a conservative Republican sea of red.”
The press release also included a statement from the Office of the Attending Physician, which provides medical care to members of Congress and other Capitol Hill figures.
“Senator McConnell continues his recovery from a fall at home in June. OAP physicians visit with the Senator every day, discussing all aspects of his rehabilitation care,” stated OAP.
“Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls.”
The OAP noted that McConnell “is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office,” explaining that a “bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.”
This marks the third notable fall of McConnell's Senate career. He fractured his shoulder in a fall at his Louisville home in 2019, and suffered a concussion and a minor rib fracture after tripping at a Washington, D.C., hotel dinner in 2023.
McConnell's extended absence has also stalled work in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee, where Republicans hold a narrow 15-14 majority, cannot report spending bills out of committee without McConnell's vote unless at least one Democrat votes in favor.
Now 84, McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985, making him the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history. In February 2025, amid growing questions about his health, McConnell announced on the Senate floor that he would not seek reelection to an eighth term. His current term ends in January 2027.
“So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term, I have some unfinished business to attend to,” McConnell said in his retirement announcement.
“Regardless of the political storms that may wash over this chamber, during the time I have remaining, I assure our colleagues I will depart with great hope for the endurance of the Senate as an institution.”
In June, McConnell suffered a fall and spent weeks at a hospital, fueling speculation that the senator was either on life support or even dead. Some have even questioned the authenticity of the “proof of life” photos of him and his wife that have been released.
Earlier this month, Democrat Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear claimed in an interview with Katie Couric that two agencies had called him to claim that McConnell had died in the hospital.
