Sen. McConnell Moves to Rehab Center After Fall and Bout of Pneumonia

Sen. Mitch McConnell said Sunday he has moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation center as he recovers from a fall that briefly knocked him unconscious and a mild case of pneumonia.

The Kentucky Republican was admitted four weeks ago after falling at home and sustaining minor injuries, according to a statement from his office that included a report from the Office of the Attending Physician.

A multidisciplinary medical team found no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor or hemorrhage, the attending physician’s office said. McConnell said he also did not suffer a concussion.

He developed pneumonia early in his hospital stay. It responded rapidly to antibiotics, according to the physician’s report.

The attending physician’s office said McConnell has fallen several times this year and attributed the falls to his post-polio condition. McConnell, who survived childhood polio, said he has lived his whole life with mobility challenges that “haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age.”

The rest of his hospitalization focused on physical therapy and strategies to reduce his risk of future falls, the physician’s office said. He has been medically cleared to keep participating fully in an intensive physical therapy program.

As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. — Sen. Mitch McConnell

McConnell said he cannot yet return to the Senate floor to vote, on his doctors’ advice.

He said he has kept working with his legislative staff, his Kentucky constituent-services team and Senate colleagues on the appropriations process and midterm politics during his recovery.

McConnell, Kentucky’s longest-serving senator, is in his seventh term and plans to retire when it ends in January. He said the demands of Senate work factored into that decision but pledged to finish his term.

“I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf,” he wrote, adding that he will return to the floor as soon as possible and keep constituents posted on his recovery.