Republican Senator Mitch McConnell returned to the Capitol on Monday after a three-month absence spent recuperating from a fall in his Washington home that had raised questions about his fitness to serve in Congress.
“I must admit. After two years of – decades, actually – dodging your questions, I wasn’t sure how many of you would be here today. But I’m glad to see you. Time to get back to work, finish the job for this Congress,” the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican told reporters from a wheelchair outside the Senate chamber.
Looking frail and speaking in a voice that sometimes faltered, McConnell said he was determined to work to pass new farm legislation, aid US relations with Nato and counter Russian aggression in Ukraine.
He ignored a reporter who asked if he intended to serve out the remainder of his Senate term, which ends in January. He then entered the chamber to vote for a Republican judicial nominee.