McConnell returns to US Senate for first time since his June hospitalization

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returns to the Senate to vote on Monday for the first time in three months, noticeably more frail after he was hospitalized for a June fall in his home.

McConnell’s lengthy absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as he initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed that he had been “briefly unconscious” due to the fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.

He briefly addresses reporters from a wheelchair outside the Senate chamber ahead of the vote, smiling but speaking slowly and with some difficulty. McConnell jokes that he wasn’t sure how many reporters would be there after dodging so many questions during his almost two decades as leader.

He says he was back in the Senate to work on a pending farm bill and because he has an ongoing interest in NATO and “backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians.”

Reporters and photographers were told by Senate staff not to take video of his remarks in the second-floor hallway, even though video is often permitted in that area. Still images were allowed.

In a statement issued before his remarks, McConnell said that “my recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier.”

“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.”