WASHINGTON--Longtime Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell said he was released from a rehabilitation center on Thursday and would continue his recovery from a fall and from pneumonia at home.
"On the advice of my doctors, I'll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I'll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business," he said in a statement.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican and former Senate majority leader has been out of public view since mid-June, when he was taken from his home to a hospital in the Washington area for reasons that were not disclosed until July 12.
At that time, McConnell said 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 McConnell's office attributed to the attending physician.
McConnell, who now chairs the Senate Rules Committee, said he had been working with his legislative staff on current issues and keeping in touch with Senate colleagues.
His staff has largely kept mum about the senior senator’s condition, despite mounting scrutiny from the media and some elected officials. McConnell’s aides have periodically released written statements from the senator providing brief updates on his recovery progress.
Some of those press releases have included photos of a seated, smiling McConnell alongside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. In one of them, McConnell is holding a newspaper, possibly to provide proof the photo was not taken earlier.
But no video or audio of McConnell has been released so far, and the scant, largely text-based assurances of his improvement have only fueled more speculation. Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear recently urged McConnell to resign if he cannot prove his fitness for office. Thursday’s press release did not include a photo.
