McConnell still hospitalized but reported to be working with staff

UPDATE:

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is still in the hospital, but is said to be involved in work with staff.

The former Republican leader was admitted to a hospital on Sunday with an undisclosed condition. The lack of information from McConnell’s office was enough to spark concern about his condition.

On Monday afternoon, a bit of new information emerged when Kentucky’s junior Senator, Rand Paul, responded to a question during an appearance in Louisville. Paul, speaking with leadership at UPS, told WDRB TV, "I've seen the news reports and we wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery." Paul said, "I've only kind of heard through the grapevine. I haven't talked to him directly. But I've heard that he is doing better today. We're hoping he gets out of the hospital soon."

Finally, on Monday evening, Senator McConnell’s spokesman, David Popp, issued an update: "Senator McConnell is fully engaged with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters and is very appreciative of the outstanding care he is receiving."

McConnell’s health has been a subject of scrutiny for the last several years.

Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker are vying for the seat McConnell is vacating in December.


Information linked and used courtesy of WDRB TV Louisville

Original Story:

Kentucky's Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell was admitted to a hospital Sunday, but there was no immediate information about why he was there or his prognosis.

McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role while finishing his final term, which ends in January.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” spokesperson David Popp said in a statement without elaboration. It was not immediately clear whether the Kentucky lawmaker was in Washington, his home state or elsewhere.

McConnell’s health has been a subject of scrutiny for years.

He fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon in December 2024. He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff came to his assistance.

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs. In addition to his 2023 fall, he also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky. He had surgery for a fractured shoulder.

McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period.

He remains active in the Senate, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, and recent chairing public hearings and grilling officials from his perch as the chairman for the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense. He has intermittently used a wheelchair to navigate the Capitol and routinely has his security detail, as a former congressional leader, at his side.

Only Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at 92 and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 84, are older than McConnell in Congress.


(AP file photo)