Shelley Capito

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said a person who recently visited Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) while he has been in a rehabilitation center described the former leader as “clear-minded.”

Capito told independent journalist Nicholas Ballasy in a video posted Saturday that she knew what had been reported, that McConnell “is recovering and is healing and is in a rehabilitation hospital.”

“I talked to somebody yesterday who visited him and said that he’s clear-minded, and he just needs to get stronger,” she said.

Asked by Ballasy if she would visit McConnell, Capito said she will wait “until he asks for visitors.”

“I think anybody who’s been in the hospital or in a rehab facility, uh, being visited — I think is a pretty sensitive topic,” she added.

McConnell has been in a rehabilitation facility after he was hospitalized and absent from the Senate for several weeks after a medical emergency at his Washington, D.C., home on June 14. His physician previously said McConnell was admitted to the hospital after falling at home because of mobility issues that stem from childhood polio.

He has not cast a vote for the Senate since June 11.

McConnell also developed pneumonia early in his hospitalization and received antibiotic treatment. His doctor’s office said he was medically cleared to “continue fully participating in his intensive physical therapy program.”

The Kentucky Republican’s absence stirred rumors online about his health, as the 84-year-old senator has faced a string of health concerns in recent years that have caused some to question his ability to serve in the legislature. Following Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) sudden death, calls grew for an update on McConnell’s condition.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) pressed McConnell to provide the public with an update on the status of his health. McConnell responded with a message to Kentuckians about his health, along with what appeared to be a recent photo of McConnell with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time,” McConnell said in a statement previously to The Hill. “And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet. But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you.”

McConnell added that he has worked closely with his staff and has “also been keeping in touch with my Senate colleagues on the appropriations process, midterm politics, and everything in between.”

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