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Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will return to the Senate to cast his first vote following months of speculation on his condition and when the longtime lawmaker would reemerge into the public eye.
McConnell said in a statement on Monday, the first day back for the Senate taking over a month-long break, that he would “cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June.”
“I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues. My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier,” McConnell said. “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me.”
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“Elaine and I are very grateful for all the continued well wishes from our fellow Kentuckians, and I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their behalf this month,” he continued.
Having McConnell back changes the math for upcoming votes and future action on a possible budget reconciliation package to ram through chunks of the SAVE America Act and defense funding. He chairs both the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, two key panels that could have a major impact on whether Republicans can move forward with the process.
But first, he had to cast his first vote.
His first appearance on the Senate floor since June was to vote in favor of one of President Donald Trump’s judicial picks, Matthew R. Byrne, to be the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio.
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McConnell, 84, has not been in the Senate for votes nor committee work since early June after being hospitalized from suffering a fall at his Washington, D.C., home. His absence was further prolonged when he developed pneumonia, and went through a stint a rehab to further recover from the fall.
And his return comes as Republicans are again gearing up to vote on massive farm aid and funding package this week. The last time Senate Republicans tried to advance the bill it failed without McConnell’s key vote.
The Senate Agriculture Committee is slated to again vote on the bill on Wednesday, and the committee’s chair, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., teased that McConnell’s return was imminent just before the announcement was made.
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“I think they feel like he’s moving in that direction,” Boozman said. “So watch for him.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he had spoken with McConnell last week, and that the longtime Republican leader was “dialed in” on how campaigns for this midterm election cycle were going. Still, it’s unclear how long he will stick around during the forthcoming three-week sprint before lawmakers make a jailbreak for the campaign trail in October.
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“I’m hopeful he’s available on Wednesday to get the Farm bill out of the [Senate] Ag Committee,” Thune said. “But just as much as he can do, we welcome having him here.”
When asked what it felt like to see him on the Senate floor again, Thune said, “Great.”
