Sen. Mitch McConnell and his wife. Photo: Office of Mitch McConnell
US Senator and former Republican leader of the upper chamber, Mitch McConnell, has revealed that his weeks-long hospitalisation had been due to a fall and loss of consciousness, with a subsequent bout of “mild” pneumonia.
The extended absence of the veteran Kentucky senator had raised much speculation in Washington over his actual condition, and compounded problems for his party’s narrow Senate majority.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, and his office did not provide any further details for weeks, repeatedly saying only that he was “receiving excellent care.”
In a statement on Sunday, the senator acknowledged “honest questions” that had been raised about his absence.
