Senator Tries to Vote for McConnell

A Senate panel nearly recorded the first vote from Sen. Mitch McConnell in weeks, but the effort was shut down by those pesky Agriculture Committee rules. Hours after McConnell's office announced Thursday that the 84-year-old Republican had been discharged from a rehabilitation hospital and would continue intensive physical therapy at home, Sen. John Boozman said he had spoken with the ailing senator the night before about this year's farm bill and cast a committee vote on his behalf, WLKY reports.

Boozman, the top Republican on the committee, recorded a "yes" for McConnell by proxy. On a 10-11 vote, the bill failed to advance out of committee, with the proxy vote not counting. Nor did a proxy vote for GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville count, per the Hill. McConnell, who was hospitalized after a June 14 fall at his home and hasn't voted on the Senate floor since June 11, remains absent from in-person proceedings.