McConnell says he is unable to return to U.S. Senate yet
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell announced he will remain absent from the Senate to continue recovering from a fall and pneumonia. His office confirmed he is currently undergoing physical therapy at a rehabilitation center.
Why it matters
The absence of a senior legislative leader impacts Senate operations and the progress of current political agendas.
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell said he will not rejoin the Senate when it returns to work on Monday (July 13, 2026) because he is still recovering from a fall and from pneumonia.
“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement on Sunday (July 12, 20260, his first since he was hospitalized last month. “And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.”
He said that he suffered a fall in mid-June that left him briefly unconscious. While hospitalized, he developed pneumonia and was treated with antibiotics, according to a separate statement that Mr. McConnell’s office attributed to the attending physician. The physician was not identified.
Mr. McConnell, 84, said he is now at a rehabilitation center, which he did not name.
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