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Mitch McConnell's New Rehab Photo Raises 7 Questions About His Recovery

Newsweek · back to the audit
Senator Mitch McConnell's office on Monday released a new photograph showing the Kentucky Republican seated beside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, alongside a medical update stating that he remains in an inpatient rehabilitation facility more than a month after suffering a fall at his home. The image -- the second released since McConnell's June hospitalization -- appears intended to reassure supporters about the 84-year-old senator's condition. But it also leaves key questions unanswered, including what caused the incident that sent him to the hospital, when he might return to Capitol Hill, and why his office has provided only limited public information about his recovery. In a statement released on Monday, McConnell said he is continuing 'intense physical therapy' and would not be able to attend Kentucky's annual Fancy Farm picnic this weekend. The Office of the Attending Physician added that McConnell 'continues his recovery from a fall at home in June' and remains under daily medical supervision. 'He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.' The statement also highlighted McConnell's childhood battle with polio, saying it 'continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.' Beshear escalated those concerns on Monday, sending separate letters to McConnell and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. In the letters seen by Newsweek, Beshear said it had been 43 days since McConnell's hospitalization and claimed the senator had cast no votes or engaged in official Senate activities during that period. The Democrat governor called on McConnell to 'directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.' He also urged Thune to investigate McConnell's condition, report his findings to the public and 'begin the process if warranted.' 'When you run for office and serve as one of a state's two U.S. senators, you willingly abdicate much of your personal privacy,' Beshear wrote. 'That's the deal, and we all know it when we run.'