McConnell to Continue Recovery at Home 08/07 06:29

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he's 
been discharged from a rehabilitation center and will continue his recovery 
from home.

   The former Senate leader was first admitted to the hospital on June 14. He 
disclosed weeks later that his hospitalization was the result of a fall and 
said he was undergoing physical therapy.

   McConnell, 84, gave no specific date for his return to the Capitol, but 
senators are expected to soon leave Washington for the traditional August 
recess. Votes are unlikely for the next five weeks once they adjourn.

   "On the advice of my doctors, I'll maintain an intensive regimen of physical 
therapy from home during the state work period, and I'll continue to engage 
with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business," McConnell said in a 
statement released by his office.

   McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged some 
difficulty walking and climbing stairs as an adult. The Office of the Attending 
Physician has said McConnell was undergoing a strenuous course of physical 
therapy and rehabilitation since he left the hospital, which includes multiple 
sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls.

   The senator is determined to finish out his seventh term, which concludes in 
January.

   McConnell's absence is being felt in the Senate as Republicans were unable 
to advance a farm bill out of committee Thursday. The committee's chairman, 
Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, said he spoke with McConnell this week about the 
bill.

   "I know how much he would have wanted to be here to advocate for Kentucky's 
farmers and rural communities," Boozman said in kicking off the committee's 
meeting Thursday.

   But there has also been criticism that McConnell has not been transparent 
enough about his health. The state's Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, 
recently called on the senator to either prove that he is fit to continue 
serving after his lengthy hospital stay or resign from office.