Mitch McConnell Returns to Senate After 3-Month Absence

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate on Monday afternoon and said in a statement that he plans to cast a vote for the first time since June 14, when he was hospitalized after falling in his home. "My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven't made it any easier," McConnell said, per the AP. "I'm still not quite back to 100%," he added. He said he's told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that he will do his best to "be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me."

McConnell's three-month absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as the Kentucky senator initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old eventually disclosed that he had been "briefly unconscious" due to a fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital. The Senate reconvened at 3pm Monday after a five-week break, per WHAS.