Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returned to the Senate on Monday after a three-month absence due to health issues.

Video footage showed McConnell leaving his home in a wheelchair.

“Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues,” McConnell said in a statement.

“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier. I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader 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 continued.

Watch below:

CNN shared further:

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14, but did not disclose the reason for the hospitalization at the time, leading to speculation over his health status.

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Several weeks later, in July, the 84-year-old senator released a statement revealing he had suffered a fall and later contracted pneumonia. The former Senate GOP leader said he had been “briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital.”

On August 6, McConnell announced he would continue his recovery at home after a stint in a rehabilitation facility following his hospitalization.

The Senate returned to session in Washington, DC, on Monday after a five-week summer recess. In response to multiple questions from CNN on when McConnell would return and whether he would be back when the Senate reconvened, his office did not provide a definitive date.

“Elaine and I are very grateful for all the continued well wishes from our fellow Kentuckians, and I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their behalf this month,” McConnell said.

Watch additional footage below:

More from The New York Times:

On the Senate floor on Monday, Mr. McConnell was wheeled out and immediately surrounded by a procession of senators who approached to shake his hand. Clad in a navy blazer and khaki pants, he could be heard speaking in low tones with both Democrats and Republicans who came to wish him well.

Mr. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, announced in 2024 that he would not try to return as leader after a series of falls, an extended absence and episodes where he seemed to freeze while speaking in public. Then, in early 2025, he announced he would not seek election to an eighth term. His current term expires on Jan. 3.

Mr. McConnell, who had polio as a child, has at times relied on a wheelchair to make his way from his Senate offices to the floor but he had stopped using one in the days before the incident at his home.

His absence prompted significant speculation about the state of his health and stoked outrage among voters about the advanced ages of those serving at the highest levels in Congress. Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, raised questions about whether Mr. McConnell is competent to serve and suggested he was shortchanging his constituents by failing to step down and cut short his remaining time in the Senate.

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