Sen. McConnell still not cleared to go back to work as he recovers from fall, doctors say

Sen. Mitch McConnell is recovering from his debilitating fall last month but still has not been cleared to return to work, the congressional physician's office said Monday, more than six weeks since the Kentucky Republican was last seen in public.

Doctors from the Office of the Attending Physician, or OAP, are meeting with the 84-year-old senator at a rehab facility every day, "discussing all aspects of his rehabilitation care," the office said in a statement shared by McConnell's staff in a press release.

The release included a written statement from McConnell, apologizing for being unable to make it to an upcoming Kentucky picnic event.

"I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors' orders," he said in the statement. "Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday."

"As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon," the statement read.

The update also included a photo of McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, with a caption dated Sunday.

The OAP's statement said, "Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls."

The physician's office noted that McConnell's childhood experience suffering from polio "continues to be a significant factor in his mobility."

"He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office," OAP said.

McConnell, the former GOP Senate majority leader who is serving out his final term, has suffered multiple health scares in recent years, including multiple falls and verbal freeze-ups.

In mid-June, he suffered a fall that put him in the hospital for several weeks. It was later reported that responders performed CPR on a person experiencing cardiac arrest as McConnell's Washington address on the day of his hospitalization.

McConnell's office initially offered few details about the incident and his current state of health, but suggested in a brief statement that he was lucid and engaged.

As questions mounted, several of McConnell's GOP allies said earlier this month that they spoke with him at length over the phone. But those assurances, which lacked detail or additional evidence of McConnell's wellbeing, only stoked further scrutiny. On July 8, Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear formally asked for an update on McConnell's fitness.

On July 12, McConnell's office shared a written update from the senator, explaining that the fall left him unconscious and that he subsequently developed "a mild case of pneumonia."

But McConnell was told he broke no bones in the fall, and that he has no tumors or hemorrhages and did not have a concussion, heart attack or stroke, according to the statement. The senator added that he had been moved from the hospital to a rehab center.