Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., conducts a news conference at the U.S. Capitol after the senate luncheon on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
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Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Saturday he was discharged from the rehabilitation facility where he received physical therapy for a concussion from a fall earlier this month.
The Kentucky Republican, 81, said in a statement released by his office that he would be working from home over the next few days. The Senate is scheduled to adjourn for the weeks of April 3 and April 10.
McConnell was having dinner on March 8 after a hotel reception for a campaign committee affiliated with him when he tripped. In addition to the concussion, he also suffered a broken rib.
He was discharged on March 13, and on the advice of his doctor, he was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility for physical therapy and continued recovery.
Concussions can be serious injuries and take time to heal. Even a single concussion incident can limit a person’s abilities for that period of time.
“I will follow the advice of my physical therapists and spend the next few days working for the Kentuckian people and the Republican Convention from home,” McConnell said in the statement. “I’m in regular contact with my Senate colleagues and staff. I look forward to returning in person to the Senate soon.”
Nearly four years ago, he tripped at his home in Kentucky, causing him to fracture his shoulder and require surgery. The Senate has just begun its summer break, and he’s been working from home for several weeks as he recovers.
As a child, he suffered from polio and he has admitted some adult difficulty climbing stairs.
McConnell was first elected in 1984. In January, he became the longest-serving Senate leader when the new Congress convened, breaking the previous record 16 years ago.
