Mitch McConnell

Ailing Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Monday he will skip the biggest event on Kentucky’s Republican political calendar, but claimed he is making good progress in rehabilitation after a nasty fall last month.

The 84-year-old Republican lawmaker, who has suffered a well-documented series of health scares in recent years, says he won’t make it to the Fancy Farm Picnic in western Kentucky this weekend.

“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. “Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm.”

McConnell, the onetime GOP Senate leader, included a photo from his rehab center along with his wife, ex-Labor Secretary Eileen Chao, which he said was taken on Sunday.

He sent regrets on missing out on “feasting on pork and mutton” at the Republican event, and cheered Kentucky’s transformation from a Democratic stronghold to a deep-red state in recent decades.

“When I first attended 42 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 wrote.

“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,” he added.

A statement from a Senate medical office confirmed that McConnell was not yet cleared to return to work and added that “his bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.”

McConnell has been the subject of intense rumors since the June 14 fall, with many claiming he is incapacitated or even dead. He says his health woes were compounded by a battle with a mild case of pneumonia, but insists he is on track for a full recovery and return to Capitol Hill.

McConnell has already announced his retirement at the end of his current term in office, and Republicans are heavily favored to hold his seat.

His absence from the Senate has serious political implications due to the GOP’s narrow majority in the upper chamber.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but without McConnell they can only afford to lose the votes of two lawmakers to pass legislation. That’s a tricky task with relative moderates like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) running for reelection and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), a sometimes critic of President Trump, not running for reelection.