Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is “not yet medically cleared” to leave his rehab facility and return to work, according to a new update from the office that provides medical care to members of Congress.
The statement from the Office of the Attending Physician, released Monday, added that McConnell “has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls.”
“His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility,” the statement continued.
The update comes following the 84-year-old senator’s hospitalization last month after what he described as a fall and a subsequent “mild case of pneumonia.”
McConnell has faced blowback from some of his Senate colleagues and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, for failing to keep his constituents informed about his condition for about a month after he was hospitalized. In that information gap, conspiracy theories swirled.
In his own statement released Monday, McConnell said he is “still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders.”
“As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I’m looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon,” he added.
The latest updates — issued days before an annual church picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky, that McConnell was scheduled to attend and which he addressed in his statement — were accompanied by a photo of the senator seated, smiling and wearing a light blue collared shirt, alongside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984. He announced last year that he would not seek re-election after his term ends in January.
In recent years, McConnell has suffered a concussion as well as a series of episodes in which he appeared to freeze on camera while speaking to reporters.
McConnell has missed 38 votes on the Senate floor since he was hospitalized, NBC News reported. The Senate has about two weeks left in session before its August recess.
Mychael Schnell contributed reporting.
The post Sen. Mitch McConnell ‘not yet medically cleared’ to resume work appeared first on MS NOW.
