McConnell denies heart attack, says he’s in rehab after fall

Mitch McConnell said a fall led to his hospitalization and that he has moved to a rehabilitation center. In his first public statement since being hospitalized nearly a month ago, McConnell said he was “briefly unconscious” after the fall but that doctors found no broken bones, concussion, heart attack, stroke, tumor or hemorrhage.

McConnell’s office said he was hospitalized on June 14, 2026, and his statement said he also had a mild case of pneumonia. A photo released with the update showed McConnell smiling from a hospital chair beside his wife, Elaine Chao. He said he has undergone extensive testing to determine what caused the fall and is continuing physical therapy to regain strength.

The statement also made clear that McConnell has not been cleared to return to the Senate floor to vote. He said he has stayed in touch with Senate colleagues about the appropriations process and midterm politics, but did not give a timetable for returning to Capitol Hill.

McConnell said he has lived his whole life with mobility challenges from childhood polio, and the attending physician said he has experienced several falls throughout the year tied to that post-polio condition. The physician said the rest of McConnell’s hospital stay focused on physical therapy and strategies to reduce future fall risk.

Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter on July 8 asking for a fuller update on McConnell’s health and well-being, citing public concern about whether he could continue to serve. McConnell had already said on February 20, 2025, that he would not seek reelection in 2026 and plans to serve the rest of his term through January 2027.