Mitch McConnell's health crisis and Senate return

Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, 84, returned to the Capitol on September 15 in a wheelchair, visibly frail, for his first vote in three months after being hospitalized June 14 following a fall at his Washington home; he was briefly unconscious and later diagnosed with mild pneumonia, then spent weeks in a rehabilitation facility before continuing recovery at home from early August. McConnell, a childhood polio survivor who has suffered several falls tied to his post-polio condition and previously froze mid-sentence at a 2023 press conference, said his "recovery has been a long and often frustrating process" and that he is "still not quite back to 100%" but would try to be present for key votes, including a farm bill and Ukraine-related NATO matters, as he finishes his term (he is not seeking re-election in November, when Republican Andy Barr faces Democrat Charles Booker for his seat).

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As it ran

16 September 2026

• McConnell returns to the Senate for the first time since his June hospitalization AP

15 September 2026

• Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate after three-month absence due to health issues CNN
• Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after three-month absence BBC News
• Mitch McConnell returns to US Senate after 3-month health absence South China Morning Post
• Moment Mitch McConnell returns to Congress BBC News

14 September 2026

• Mitch McConnell returns after months-long absence for crucial Senate vote Fox News
• McConnell Returns to Senate After 3 Months Away New York Times

13 September 2026

• From US Senator Mitch McConnell CNN

12 September 2026

• What we know about when Mitch McConnell will return to the Senate CNN
• McConnell Senate return timeline CNN