Republican senator, 84, was taken to hospital after fall in June and has been absent from Senate since<\/p>\n
The Republican US senator Mitch McConnell has been discharged from a rehabilitation center following the fall that left him hospitalized, he announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n
McConnell, 84, whose weeks\u2011long absence from Capitol Hill fueled mounting speculation about his health, said he will continue his recovery at home.<\/p>\n
While the Senate is set to wrap up legislative business this week, before a five\u2011week recess, several agenda items remain \u2013 including a vote to confirm Todd Blanche as US attorney general. McConnell\u2019s absence further narrows Republicans\u2019 already tight path to approving Donald Trump\u2019s former personal attorney as head of the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n
McConnell is one of the highest-profile figures in Congress, as a former Senate majority leader. He has been absent from the Senate and not seen in public since mid-June, although his office has released several photos of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the advice of my doctors, I\u2019ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period,\u201d McConnell said in a Thursday statement. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.\u201d<\/p>\n
His 53\u2011day absence has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties. Last month, Kentucky\u2019s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, publicly urged McConnell to release more information about his health, writing: \u201cKentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office.\u201d<\/p>\n
McConnell was admitted to hospital on 14 June. His office initially offered few details, saying only that he was \u201ccontinuing to improve\u201d.<\/p>\n
A month later, McConnell disclosed that a fall at his home and a \u201cmild case of pneumonia\u201d had prompted the hospitalization and his extended time away. In late July, his office said he still had not been cleared to return to work.<\/p>\n