Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he has been released from the rehabilitation facility where he had been recovering after a fall, and will now continue his physical therapy from home.
In a statement issued by his office, the 84-year-old Republican thanked well-wishers and medical staff for their care during his stay, and said he intended to keep up an intensive at-home physical therapy schedule while remaining engaged with Senate business during the chamber’s state work period.
The discharge caps roughly two months since McConnell was first hospitalized in June, following a fall at a dinner event in Washington that left him with a concussion and a minor rib fracture.
He had not appeared in public since, aside from photos periodically released by his office, fueling speculation in Kentucky and Washington about his health and his ability to serve out the remainder of his term, which concludes in January 2027.
His prolonged absence was notable over the weekend when McConnell skipped the annual Fancy Farm picnic in western Kentucky, a political tradition he has rarely missed. Republican attendees offered mixed reactions, with some voicing hope he would recover in time to return to the Senate floor, and others emphasizing the importance of full representation for Kentucky in the meantime, according to Kentucky Public Radio.
McConnell’s health struggles have mounted in recent years. He served as Senate Republican leader for nearly two decades before stepping down from that post, and has experienced several public health scares, including a pair of moments in 2023 in which he froze and briefly lost the ability to speak during press appearances. He has also used a wheelchair to get around the Capitol during his most recent public appearances prior to the June hospitalization.
McConnell, first elected to the Senate in 1984, has said he does not plan to seek reelection when his current term expires, setting up a wide-open race to succeed him in a seat he has held for four decades. Numerous candidates from both parties have already entered the contest to replace him.
His office has not indicated when he might return to the Capitol or resume in-person Senate votes, though aides have stressed he will continue coordinating with staff and colleagues remotely as his recovery progresses.
The senator’s absence has occasionally strained Senate Republican operations on votes requiring narrow margins, though leadership has not publicly indicated the gap has affected any major legislative outcomes to date.
