Mitch McConnell has been absent from Capitol Hill for three months. It’s still unclear when he’ll return

By Annie Grayer, Morgan Rimmer, CNN

(CNN) — The Senate is set to return Monday after a five-week recess, and it is still unclear if GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell will end his three-month absence from the Capitol due to health issues.

McConnell was hospitalized in June, which his office later said was due to a fall. In August, the senator announced that he would continue his recovery at home after spending time at a rehabilitation center after his hospitalization.

As the Senate’s recess comes to a close, the retiring senator has not announced if he will join his colleagues at the Capitol next week.

In response to multiple questions from CNN on when McConnell will return to Capitol Hill, his office has not provided a definitive date.

House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky sparked speculation that McConnell might soon be back when he said last week that McConnell’s staff had told him they are hoping the senator will return when the Senate comes back into session.

Although he said he has not spoken to McConnell directly, Comer said he communicates regularly with the senator’s staff as their offices often work together on matters for their state.

Asked if McConnell is expected to be back at that time, Comer said, “I expect that. I sure hope so.”

“I have not talked to Leader McConnell. I’ve talked to his staff, many of whom are from my district originally. And they have all said it’s their goal for Senator McConnell to be here when the Senate comes in,” Comer said.

When CNN reached out to McConnell’s office about Comer’s comments last week, McConnell spokesperson Stephanie Penn said there are “no scheduling announcements at this time.”

What we know about McConnell’s absence

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14, but his office did not disclose the reason for the hospitalization at the time. He was taken from his home in Capitol Hill by ambulance.

In July, after weeks of speculation and questions over his health status, McConnell announced that a fall had landed him in the hospital. He said that he was “briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital” and “while receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia.”

In his statement, McConnell indirectly addressed why it took so long to share what sent him to the hospital.

“You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct — I can’t help it,” he said.

The senator then moved to a rehabilitation center to continue regaining his strength and later announced in early August that he was discharged and would continue to recover at home.

“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” he said in a statement at the time.

McConnell’s absence sparks nationwide conversation

McConnell’s prolonged absence from Capitol Hill has sparked a nationwide conversation over what level of transparency lawmakers owe their constituents.

The current system allows lawmakers to handle attendance at their own discretion with no enforcement mechanism. Members must attempt to strike a balance between dealing with private health matters and the obligations that come with being a public figure.

Project on Government Oversight Director of Advocacy Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette told CNN, “I think it’s incumbent upon us to allow everybody, including public officials some degree of privacy, specifically around health matters, but one thing that you definitely sign up for when you make the choice to run for office and then become an elected official is that the amount of your life that remains entirely and exclusively private is reduced.”

Hedtler-Gaudette said, “You have many duties when you’re an elected official, a member of Congress, but one of the top-most is to show up and in showing up you are providing representation for your constituents” he said, pointing out that each state has two senators. “Right now, the commonwealth of Kentucky only has half of the representation it is due. That is a fundamental problem.”

This isn’t the first time McConnell has faced health challenges

McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, has faced a series of health issues in recent years, including multiple falls. In 2023, he froze mid-sentence during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Providing more detail about the fall that landed him in the hospital in June, McConnell said in a July statement, “my doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages.”

He added, “You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work. But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.”

Along with his own statement, McConnell included a note from the attending physician of Congress, who described the injuries after the fall at his Washington, DC, home as “minor.” The physician added that “McConnell has experienced several falls throughout the year that have been attributed to his post-polio condition.”

McConnell also provided a photo at the time showing him smiling next to his wife, Elaine Chao. He appeared to have a copy of that Sunday’s Washington Post sports section on his lap.

Other lawmakers have also been absent for prolonged periods of time

McConnell is not the only lawmaker to be absent from Capitol Hill for a prolonged period of time.

Republican Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey said in June that he experienced severe depression that required a long-term stay in the hospital, keeping him away from Washington more than 100 days.

In both instances, GOP leadership deferred to the lawmakers to handle their own absences and messaging around it while also encouraging transparency.

“I mean, I think that there’s some obviously kind of crazy speculation online, but in the end, I think it’s important as much as possible for him and his team to, you know – and we’ve been trusting them to do that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in July after having recently spoke with McConnell.

Thune continued, “But you know, I think that anything he can do to just keep these, you know, crazy conspiracy theories off of the, off the grid, so to speak, I think would be helpful.”

But some of McConnell’s colleagues thought the Kentucky Republican should have shared more information sooner to prevent the conspiracy theories that have circulated online.

“I think we need some transparency. I wish Senator McConnell and his team had done that earlier. I think it would have resolved a lot of questions,” GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said on July 13.

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