Mitch McConnell took his Senate seat back Monday, three months after a fall knocked him out of commission — and almost right up until he walked in, nobody in his own party could say for certain he’d actually show. His office offered no guarantees, either.
The absence traces back to a fall at his Washington home June 14 — he blacked out briefly, then came down with pneumonia in the hospital before a stint in rehab kept him sidelined until his August 6 discharge home.
Read: McConnell’s Doctors Say He’s Still Not Cleared to Return to the Senate
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“…my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June,” McConnell said in a statement on Monday, adding he was looking forward to being back on the floor with his colleagues. The timing matters beyond the symbolism — he’s expected to vote on a farm bill this week, and his seat could break a tie on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The prolonged, largely silent absence had drawn real criticism. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called on McConnell to either demonstrate he could still do the job or resign.
He hadn’t voted since June 11 and missed dozens in between. McConnell, who is 84 and has been a US Senator since 1985, has previously announced that he won’t seek another term.
