McConnell released from hospital but not cleared to return to Senate; Kentucky governor calls for more health transparency

McConnell's office on Monday released an update from the Office of the Attending Physician stating that the senator "continues his recovery from a fall at home in June." The statement said OAP physicians visit McConnell daily and that he has "maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls." His office also released a photo of McConnell and his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, taken on Sunday.

The OAP statement noted that McConnell's "bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility" and that "he is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office." An earlier update, released on the same day as the announcement of the late Senator Lindsey Graham's death, had noted McConnell suffered no fractures, broken bones, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage from the fall, but that he had developed pneumonia early in his hospitalization that "responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment," according to Fox News.

McConnell also released a personal statement saying he would not be able to attend the annual Fancy Farm political barbecue in western Kentucky, a fixture in his schedule for 42 years. "I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors' orders," McConnell said, adding he looks forward to returning to the Senate "soon."