WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell addressed concerns about his recent hospitalization on Sunday, with his office releasing a statement saying the Kentucky Republican had fallen but had not suffered a stroke or heart attack. The update was accompanied by a photo showing McConnell smiling.
The statement from the 84-year-old senator came after weeks of limited public information from his team about the June 14 incident, which dispatchers initially believed may have involved a cardiac event. It was also released one day after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 71, died suddenly from heart-related issues.
According to the statement, McConnell sustained “minor injuries” from the fall, but his recovery was complicated after he developed pneumonia during his hospitalization.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” McConnell said in the statement.
“But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.”
Doctors linked the fall to McConnell’s post-polio condition. He contracted polio at age 2, and the illness left his upper left leg partially paralyzed.
The Office of the Attending Physician said McConnell developed pneumonia early in his hospital stay, adding that the infection “responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment.”
“The remainder of his hospital stay focused on physical therapy and strategies to reduce his risk of future falls. He has been medically cleared to continue fully participating in his intensive physical therapy program,” the office said.
The release included a photo of McConnell propped up in a hospital bed with his wife Elaine Chao by his side.
McConnell’s absence and the previous lack of a clear explanation from his team about it had sent the rumor mill into overdrive for weeks about his condition.
Key McConnell allies such as former aide Scott Jennings and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) tried to downplay the hoopla by saying they had spoken with him during his hospital stay, but their statements did little to quiet suspicious critics.
McConnell said in his statement Sunday that, much to his chagrin, his recovery process will take time, adding that “on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.
“But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you,” he said. “I’ve been working closely with my legislative staff on current issues, and with my Kentucky team who help me provide timely constituent services across our Commonwealth.”
He said he has been able to move from hospital care to a rehabilitation center since the fall.
For the time being, because of his absence and the death of Graham, the GOP’s Senate majority will functionally be at 51-47 for the short-term. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate leader of any party in the upper chamber’s history.
He has suffered multiple health scares in the past. In 2023, for example, McConnell froze up several times mid-speech after suffering a concussion and minor rib fracture from a fall at a fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, DC, earlier that year.
