Mitch McConnell has returned to the US Senate for the first time in three months, appearing frail and speaking slowly from a wheelchair after being hospitalised following a fall at his home.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican briefly addressed reporters outside the Senate chamber on Monday, smiling as he acknowledged the intense interest in his prolonged absence.
“I wasn’t sure how many reporters would be here,” he joked, after avoiding questions about his condition for much of his absence.
Mr McConnell later disclosed that he had been “briefly unconscious” after the fall and had also been treated in hospital for mild pneumonia.
He said he had returned to work on a pending farm bill and because of his continuing interest in NATO, including “backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians”.
In a statement issued before his remarks, Mr McConnell warned that his health could still prevent him from attending some votes.
“I’m still not quite back to 100 per cent, but I’ve assured Leader (John) Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me,” he said.
Senate staff instructed reporters and photographers not to record his remarks in the second-floor hallway, where filming is often permitted. Still images were allowed.
Mr McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader, is in the final months of a four-decade political career and is due to retire at the end of January.
His extended absence has intensified public concern about the age and health of lawmakers. His condition had already appeared to decline in recent years, including after a concussion caused by a fall at a Washington hotel in March 2023.
He missed several weeks of work after that incident and twice froze during news conferences on his return, staring ahead without speaking. A year later, he fell and sprained his wrist while leaving a Republican luncheon.
