Mitch McConnell returns to US Senate after three-month absence
Senator McConnell casts his first vote since June, pledging presence for crucial Senate decisions.
United States Senator Mitch McConnell has returned to Congress, casting his vote for the first time since he was hospitalised three months ago after a fall in his home in Washington, raising questions about his ability to serve.
“I must admit. After two years of – decades, actually – dodging your questions, I wasn’t sure how many of you would be here today. But I’m glad to see you. Time to get back to work, finish the job for this Congress,” McConnell told reporters outside the Senate chamber on Monday.
The disappearance from public view of the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican raised many questions within the Republican Party.
He said he is “not quite back to 100%”, adding that the lingering effects of “childhood polio” made his recovery difficult, but he assured his colleagues that he will do his “best to be present” for tough votes “when our conference needs me”.