Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was released from the hospital Monday after suffering a brain injury linked to a fall at a hotel dinner event in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday.
But doctors still haven’t cleared McConnell to return to work after his mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).
“At the advice of his physician, the next step will be a period of physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation facility before he returns home,” McConnell’s communications director, David Popp, said in a statement.
McConnell could remain under a physician’s supervision and care for weeks — hinting that his concussion was far worse than anyone first realized.
McConnell, 81, also suffered a minor rib injury during the fall. His office refuses to comment on the expected timeline for recovery.
“That decision will be made by the Leader’s physicians and the therapists,” Popp said. “It is very common to undergo physical therapy to regain strength after a hospital stay and this ranges anywhere from a week to two weeks.”
The Senate, where the average age is 65, has been without several members recently due to illness.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., 53, who suffered a near-fatal stroke during his campaign last year, has been out for some weeks as he received care for clinical depression related to his brain damage. There is also no timeline for Fetterman’s return.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., 89, was hospitalized that same week over a case of shingles.
First elected in 1984, McConnell in January became the longest-serving Senate leader when the new Congress convened, breaking the previous record of 16 years.
Critics said the severity of McConnell’s injury was a sign that it’s time for him to retire —
When you’re at the point in life where a fall puts you out of work for a month, it’s time to retire.
— CM (@bulldogfan26) March 14, 2023
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article