McConnell Returns to Capitol Hill in Wheelchair After Three-Month Absence
Kentucky Republican casts first Senate vote since June following hospitalization and rehabilitation.
Reporting by The New-England Courant. Read the original report: CBS News.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the U.S. Senate chamber on Monday for the first time in three months, entering in a wheelchair and casting a vote on a judicial nomination.
The 84-year-old Republican returned to the Senate after a period of absence following a June fall that had sparked widespread speculation about his health. McConnell last voted on June 11; three days later, his office announced he had been hospitalized.
That same day, emergency medical personnel responded to his home for an unconscious person, according to a public EMS dispatch call. In the following days, McConnell's office said he was fully engaged with his staff. After Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear formally sought an update on McConnell's health in July, the senator issued his first statement since the hospitalization, noting he had moved to a rehabilitation center. On Aug. 6, McConnell said he was discharged to continue recovery at home.
Ahead of Monday's vote, McConnell said in a statement: "Today, I'll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I'm really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues." In brief comments to reporters, he confirmed his improved condition.
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