Sen. Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized more than three weeks after a June 14 medical episode, his office said July 2. "Senator McConnell continues his recovery in the hospital" and "continues to improve," the statement said, adding that he "appreciates the outpouring of support he's receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital" and that he is "working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session."
Emergency medical personnel went to McConnell's Washington home on the morning of June 14 after a dispatch reported an unconscious person who appeared to be in cardiac arrest; the call came in before 9 a.m. During the recording a dispatcher called in "cardiac arrest," a medic said there was "CPR in progress," and the dispatcher said somebody was "unconscious." The call did not mention the senator's name, and the identity of the unconscious person has not been confirmed.
Audio of the call was first shared by journalist Desiree Townsend, and police scanner audio indicates paramedics responded to a report of a "cardiac arrest" at an address associated with McConnell on the day his office disclosed he had been hospitalized. The dispatcher requested an Advanced Life Support response during the call. The dispatch call has not been independently verified.
The emergency dispatch audio has raised questions about whether McConnell will return to the Senate or whether he will return at all.
McConnell's team has not confirmed that the dispatch call was about the senator and has not provided additional information about why he was admitted to the hospital. On the same day a spokesperson said McConnell had been hospitalized and was "receiving excellent care." Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he spoke with McConnell and that the senator "sounded good" and "He's clearly dialed into what's going on." McConnell last voted on June 11. Reporters reached out to McConnell's office for comment.
A statement a week after his admission said McConnell would not be voting that week, and his office has released no updates since then. A spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on Monday, and the office has not said whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period; he was the longest-serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside.
McConnell, 84, is a childhood polio survivor and has experienced several health incidents in recent years. He tripped in 2023, sustained a concussion and was away from the Senate for nearly six weeks; later that year he twice froze during press conferences, stared into space and had to be assisted, with his office saying he had felt "lightheaded." He has had additional falls in 2024 and 2025 that injured his wrist and face. In February he spent more than a week in the hospital after checking himself in for "flu-like symptoms," and he appeared at a committee hearing on May 19 with a bandage on his hand. His office previously described his use of a wheelchair as a precautionary measure.
Kentucky's Legislature changed the law in 2024 so that any U.S. Senate vacancy is filled by special election rather than by the governor, who is a Democrat. McConnell has praised that change, and Kentucky Republicans denied they made the change with McConnell's health in mind. McConnell is serving his final term and is set to retire in January.
Other members of Congress have also been absent or limited by health this year: Rep. Neal Dunn, 73, a Florida Republican with an undisclosed terminal illness, has not been casting votes except when House leaders request his presence; Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican, recently returned after a nearly four-month absence that he said was the result of depression. Five House members, four of them Democrats, have died in office so far this Congress.
Elaine Chao met with China's vice president three days after McConnell's hospitalization.