The senator’s extended absence had sparked widespread speculation
Republican senator Mitch McConnell returned to the US Senate on Monday, casting his first vote and making his first public appearance since he suffered a fall at home in June.
McConnell traveled the few blocks to the Senate from his home on Capitol Hill as senators returned to Washington for the first time since the chamber adjourned Aug. 8 for a five-week recess. He provided the deciding vote on a routine procedural vote to advance the nomination of Matthew R. Byrne, President Donald Trump’s pick for a district court judgeship in Ohio.
In a statement, McConnell described his recovery as “a long and often frustrating process” made no easier by the lingering effects of his childhood polio.
“I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve 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,” McConnell said, referring to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota).
McConnell (84) was hospitalised in June following a fall at home, according to his office. He later moved to a rehabilitation center, from which he was discharged in August to continue his recovery at home.
McConnell’s extended absence sparked widespread speculation and even some conspiracy theories about his condition. He gave no interviews and until Monday had made no public appearances since his hospitalization. His office has shared two photos of him taken during his recovery, and he said in a statement in July that he did not break any bones when he fell and did not suffer a concussion, a heart attack, a stroke or a hemorrhage. He also disclosed that he was diagnosed with “a mild case of pneumonia” while hospitalized.
Those details did not quell intense speculation about his health and when he would return.