Monday will mark the return of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to the U.S. Capitol, nearly six weeks after suffering a concussion after tripping at a hotel in the Washington, D.C., region.
The 81-year-old veteran senator from Kentucky has been recovering at home ever since he was let out of a rehab center on March 25. He was at an event earlier that month when he fell, hurting his head and breaking a rib.
He made his first trip to his office since being hurt on Friday, and this week he is anticipated to work a full schedule in the Senate.
McConnell tweeted on Thursday, “I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday.” We have significant tasks to complete and significant battles for the benefit of Americans and Kentuckians to win.
Prior to a busy period in which Congress will need to find a way to raise the country’s debt ceiling and negotiate further funding for the Ukraine war, among other policy problems, McConnell returns to the Senate. He also returns at a time when a number of other senators have been absent due to illness, raising concerns about how much the 51-49 divided Senate will be able to accomplish in the coming months.
The Senate’s sluggish pace in the first few months of the year has already been exacerbated by the GOP leader’s absence, as well as that of Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Fetterman, among others. With Republicans now in control of the House, the Senate has moved much more slowly than it did during the previous two years, when Democrats controlled the House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was able to advance substantial portions of President Joe Biden’s program. Moreover, absences have complicated even straightforward votes like nominations.
When McConnell returns, one of the first decisions he will have to make is whether to assist Democrats in temporarily replacing Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee while she continues to recover in California from shingles. The confirmation of several of Biden’s candidates has been delayed by the Democrat’s more than six-week absence from the committee, and Feinstein has requested a temporary replacement for the position.
Republicans, however, are necessary for Democrats to succeed in doing that as 60 votes on the Senate floor are required to approve the procedure. Republicans have not yet expressed their intentions to object.
When Feinstein, 89, will return to Washington is unknown. Thus far, her office has declined to comment.
Fetterman, who was admitted to the hospital in February for clinical depression, will also be back in the Senate on Monday. His six-week treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is currently “in remission,” according to his medical professionals.
Following a stroke last year, Fetterman revealed that he was going to the hospital earlier this year. He had previously struggled with an auditory processing disorder, which can make it difficult for someone to communicate clearly and swiftly translate audible words into meaning. The 53-year-old Democrat from Pennsylvania now employs real-time transcription equipment in meetings, chats, and congressional hearings.
Fetterman claimed the treatment he received at Walter Reed “changed my life” in a statement upon his release late last month.
Fetterman, who received plaudits for his choice to seek treatment, said: “I’m delighted to be the father and husband and senator Pennsylvania deserves.”
On Friday, McConnell went to his Hill office, and NBC News video shows him entering the building unaided while aides remain nearby.
This was McConnell’s second significant injury in recent years. He tripped and broke his shoulder four years ago at his Kentucky home, necessitating surgery. He worked from home for a few weeks as he healed as the Senate had just begun its summer break.
McConnell experienced polio as a young boy, and he has long admitted to having trouble mounting stairs as an adult.