Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell is rehabbing from the fall he suffered more than a month ago and is “not yet medically cleared to leave the facility,” according to a statement released Monday by the Kentucky senator’s office along with a new photo of McConnell and his wife.

McConnell, 84, was admitted to the hospital on June 14 and revealed weeks later that it was due to a fall. He had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs, the Associated Press reported.

With the Kentucky senator not being seen in public or heard from directly since last month, McConnell’s health has been the subject of intense speculation, including that he is too frail to ever return again to the Senate. Some have even suggested that the Kentucky senator, who announced before the fall that he will retire from the Senate when his term is up in January, has organ failure or is dead.

“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 in the statement provided by his office.

“Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky this Saturday,” the statement continued, referring to an annual picnic and one of the state’s major political events.

“There’s no place I’d rather be on the first Saturday in August than with the good people of western Kentucky, feasting on pork and mutton. When I first attended forty-two years ago, Fancy Farm was a pretty lonely place to be a Republican. But, my, how times have changed. Today, western Kentucky is a conservative Republican sea of red. So I hate that I’ll miss the fun this year, but I’m sending my best wishes to the St. Jerome community for a successful picnic,” McConnell said.

“As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I’m looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon.”

The statement, which also included quotes from congressional Office of the Attending Physician (OAP), ended with a photo of McConnell and his wife, former Trump Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, that the senator’s office said was taken on Sunday.

The OAP said office physicians visit with McConnell “every day, discussing all aspects of his rehabilitation care.

“Since his discharge from hospital care, 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,” the office said. “His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.”

McConnell’s latest update has not inspired confidence from his critics, who claimed the new details do not put questions about his health to rest.

“The fact that he won’t talk to a reporter or even do a video is pretty telling,” posted Dan Pfeiffer, former communications director for Barack Obama and co-host of the “Pod Save America” podcast.

Political strategist Sawyer Hackett offered similar commentary.

“I said on CNN last week that McConnell could simply pick up the phone and call a reporter or record a 10-sec video and clear all of this up. But he’s clearly not capable of that,” Hackett tweeted.

TMZ was criticized for posting about the development on X with the headline “BREAKING: Mitch McConnell releases new proof-of-life photo.”

“Wouldn’t go so far as to call this proof-of-life...,” replied Tommy Vietor, a “Pod Save America” co-host and National Security Council official in the Obama administration.