Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,at the Capitol on Sept. 27, 2021. McConnell was discharged from the hospital Monday after suffered a concussion and minor rib fracture from a fall last Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was discharged from the hospital Monday after five days of observation and treatment. He tripped and fell during a D.C. dinner event last week, resulting in a concussion and minor rib fracture.
McConnell’s communication director, David Popp, said Monday that the 81-year-old Kentucky congressman will complete inpatient physical therapy, at the advice of his physician, before he can return home.
The senator was attending a Senate Leadership Fund event at the Waldorf Astoria last Wednesday when he tripped and fell, landing him in the hospital for observation over the weekend. On top of a concussion, doctors discovered over the weekend that the senator also suffered a minor rib fracture, Popp said in a statement.
A source familiar with McConnell’s situation said it’s common for patients to need inpatient physical therapy to regain strength and that the senator could spend at least a week recovering.
A handful of Republicans reached out to McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history, to wish him a speedy recovery. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana were among the well wishers, NPR previously reported.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, offered McConnell and his family a “prayer of strength and healing” from the Senate floor last week.