Top US senator returns after monthslong medical absence

Republican US senator Mitch McConnell, the upper chamber’s former leader, returned to Congress on Monday after a monthslong medical absence due to a bad fall.

The 84-year-old senator from Kentucky was first hospitalised in mid-June, putting pressure on the slim majority his fellow Republicans held in the Senate.

His office withheld details of his absence for weeks, leading to speculation about his condition.

He broke his silence on July 12, saying he was taken to the hospital after he fell and lost consciousness, and remained there after catching a minor case of pneumonia before he was transferred to a rehab facility.

“Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June,” McConnell wrote in a statement on X, adding that he was “really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues.”

“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier,” the statement continued.

McConnell, who is not seeking reelection in November’s midterm elections, appeared in the halls of Congress in a wheelchair.

He cautioned he was “not quite back to 100%” but clarified he would do his best “to be present for tough votes” as the US federal legislature resumes session after its summer recess.