McConnell Says He Has to Skip Fancy Farm Picnic

Sen. Mitch McConnell says he's working, just not from the Capitol yet. In a statement released by his office, the Kentucky Republican said he remains in a rehab facility after a June 14 fall at his home and hasn't been medically cleared to resume in-person duties, meaning he'll skip this weekend's high-profile Fancy Farm political picnic in Kentucky, NBC News reports.

• "I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors' orders. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday," McConnell said. "There's no place I'd rather be on the first Saturday in August than with the good people of western Kentucky, feasting on pork and mutton."

McConnell said he's looking forward to getting back to the Senate "soon," though his office offered no timetable. He has missed 38 consecutive Senate votes as the chamber heads into its final two weeks before summer recess. A statement from the Capitol's attending physician said the 84-year-old is still rebuilding his strength. "Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls," the Office of the Attending Physician said. "His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility."

Monday's statement was the first from McConnell's office since July 12, when he disclosed that he had been hospitalized after a fall, NBC reports. Almost a month of near-silence before that statement led to calls for transparency and rampant speculation, with Laura Loomer claiming that the senator was in a "vegetative state." McConnell is retiring from the Senate when his term is up in January. Attendees at the Fancy Farm picnic, known as Kentucky's political "Super Bowl," will include the Republican and Democratic nominees to replace McConnell, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.