Overview
- Comer said he expects McConnell to be back when the Senate reconvenes on Sept. 14 based on repeated conversations with the senator’s staff, though Comer has not spoken with McConnell directly.
- McConnell has not cast a vote since June 11 after a June 14 fall at his Capitol Hill townhouse that led to hospitalization and a stay in a rehabilitation facility.
- The senator posted that doctors found no broken bones, concussion, heart attack, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage and that he planned to work remotely while continuing physical therapy.
- Pressure for more transparency has grown, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asking for proof of McConnell’s mental and physical capacity and high-profile media figures publicly urging him to return or resign.
- Unverified sensational claims have circulated online even as Republican senators privately express confidence in his progress, and McConnell’s absence has cost the Senate votes and added uncertainty to his contested Kentucky seat race.