A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky Republican is keeping up with government business during his recent hospitalization.
“Senator McConnell is fully engaged with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters and is very appreciative of the outstanding care he is receiving,” said Stephanie Penn in a Monday evening statement.
McConnell, 84, was admitted to a hospital on Sunday, Penn previously said. The original statement did not say why he was hospitalized, nor if he is in Kentucky or Washington, D.C.
McConnell was hospitalized in February “after experiencing flu-like symptoms.” At the time, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said McConnell was “out texting and calling from a hospital bed” and discussed federal funding going to Kentucky in a recent package.
A Punchbowl News reporter tweeted Monday evening that Republican U.S. Senate Leader John Thune said he had spoken to McConnell who “wants to be back, but I’ll defer to his staff on when.”
McConnell announced last year that he would not seek reelection to the seat he’s held since his election in 1984. Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Democratic former state Rep. Charles Booker are campaigning to succeed McConnell in the fall.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
