Sen. Mitch McConnell discharged from rehab center following hospitalization in mid-June

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday that he has been discharged from a rehabilitation center where he was recovering from a fall he suffered in mid-June. “Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff,” McConnell said in a statement. The Kentucky Republican, 84, said he would continue to work from home and did not provide a timeline for his return to the Senate, which is expected to begin a five-week recess in the coming days. Uncertainty surrounding McConnell’s health has swirled for weeks following the senator’s June 14 hospitalization, after which he hadn’t been seen in public. His staff has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the senator’s condition, prompting calls for transparency from some critics, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Police scanner audio obtained by NBC News last month indicated that paramedics had conducted CPR on a person experiencing a “cardiac arrest” at McConnell’s address. In a statement last month, he said that he had been hospitalized after he was “briefly unconscious” following a fall. “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” he said on July 12. “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. 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.” Since his hospitalization, McConnell has missed 51 Senate floor votes and is expected to miss the vote to confirm Todd Blanche for attorney general if it takes place this week. McConnell, who has also suffered a number of health issues over the years, is retiring at the end of his term, which ends in January. In February, McConnell was hospitalized for a week with “flu-like symptoms.” In 2023, he had been hospitalized for a concussion he sustained when he tripped at a hotel and that same year, he had several episodes of freezing in the middle of speaking, which were caught on camera and raised concerns about his mental fitness for office. The senator also fractured his shoulder in 2019 when he fell at his home in Kentucky. McConnell is one of the oldest members of the Senate after Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who are 92 and 84, respectively.