Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate after three-month absence
Senator Mitch McConnell has returned to the U.S. Senate after a three-month absence following a fall at his home. He confirmed that his recovery was complicated by the lingering effects of childhood polio but intends to participate in upcoming legislative work.
Why it matters
McConnell's return restores full voting capacity to the Senate leadership during a critical period for legislative agendas like the farm bill.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., returned to the Senate on Monday and cast his vote after a more than three-month absence. “Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues,” McConnell wrote in a statement Monday. He later voted to advance the nomination of Matthew Byrne to be a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio. McConnell said his recovery had been “a long and frustrating process,” adding that it had been complicated by “lingering effects of childhood polio.” “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,” McConnell said in his statement.
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