McConnell Released From Hospital After Broken Rib And Concussion

Topline

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was discharged from the hospital Monday following injuries he received during a fall at a D.C. hotel Wednesday night, according to his spokesman, though it remains unclear when he will return to the Senate.

Key Facts

McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement that doctors discovered McConnell “suffered a minor rib fracture” in addition to the concussion already publicly disclosed.

The senator will now start “a period of physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation facility” before returning home, Popp said.

McConnell reportedly tripped at the Waldorf Astoria hotel during a private dinner for the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC.

He has repeatedly downplayed the severity of his condition, at one point lamenting how his fall caused him to miss the main course of Wednesday night’s dinner, saying, “I’m sorry I missed the halibut.”

Key Background

McConnell is one of three senators whose absence is straining Senate business given the extremely thin 51-49 majority Democrats hold in the chamber, though both of the other members out are Democrats. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has been hospitalized for nearly a month with “severe” depression, and though a spokesperson said he’s making progress, it remains unclear when he might return to Congress. Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is recovering from shingles following a brief hospitalization. She has said she hopes to return to the Senate later this month.

Tangent

The absences on the Democratic side have required Vice President Kamala Harris to step in at times to break ties. She has been the tiebreaking vote on three occasions over the past two weeks to confirm judicial nominees, reprising a role she played dozens of times from 2021 to 2023, when the Senate was split 50-50 between the two parties.

Further Reading

McConnell Suffered Concussion After D.C. Fall—Will Stay Hospitalized A ‘Few’ Days, Spokesman Says (Forbes)

Sen. Mitch McConnell Hospitalized After Fall At D.C. Hotel (Forbes)

Sen. Fetterman Hospitalized For ‘Severe’ Depression (Forbes)

Sen. Feinstein Hospitalized With Shingles—Straining Democrats’ Narrow Majority (Forbes)