Mitch McConnell

Prank missing-person posters featuring Senator Mitch McConnell have been put up around Washington D.C. amid his prolonged absence from Congress as he remains in hospital.

The poster features the words "MISSING PERSON" in large red lettering above an image of the Kentucky Republican recovering in a hospital bed. A description lists him as "84 years old. 5'9 feet. Turtle-like."

The posters were made and distributed by the Save America Movement, a self-described "citizen-led organization focused on defending democracy and restoring common sense."

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In an image shared by the group on X, the poster says: "Known for: Blocking something in the Senate. Distinguishing features: Tortoise like appearance."

McConnell has been absent from Congress for several weeks as questions continue to surround his health. He was admitted to hospital in mid-June after a fall and "a mild case of pneumonia."

"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 a statement, released by his office on Monday.

"We put those flyers up because this has gotten absurd," a spokesperson for the Save America group told The Independent. "For more than a month now, the senior senator from Kentucky has not cast a vote, has not appeared for the work of the chamber, and has not, in any provable or functional sense, represented the four and a half million people who sent him there."

McConnell's absence has irked some of his fellow lawmakers. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has called for McConnell to "directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign."