Mitch McConnell, 81, Now in Rehab After Fall at DC Hotel

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell left the hospital earlier this week, and is now receiving treatment at a Washington, D.C. rehab facility, after falling at a private dinner at Trump’s old hotel.

McConnell’s office initially shared little about the accident, but later confirmed the 81-year-old suffered a concussion. Now, they have added that McConnell suffered a “minor rib fracture” from the fall at the Waldorf Astoria.

“Leader McConnell’s concussion recovery is proceeding well and the Leader was discharged from the hospital today,” said McConnell spokesman David Popp, according to Headline USA. “At the advice of his physician, the next step will be a period of physical therapy at an inpatient rehabilitation facility before he returns home.”

Popp did not reveal how long the 80-year-old – long considered the most powerful Republican in the Senate – would remain in the rehab facility.

Though the specifics of McConnell’s condition have not been released, doctors warn that elderly people can take much longer to recover from a concussion.

Mitch McConnell and wife Elaine Chao / U.S. Senate photo

Around 25% of elderly people report dizziness or feeling unsteady after a concussion, according to Des Moines University, while others experience full-on vertigo.

The resource explains that a physical therapist could be helpful for an elderly person, both to aid in recovery from a fall, and to exercise certain muscle groups to help the elderly patient avoid future falls in an “individualized treatment program.”

With an average age of 64.3 years in the U.S. Senate, McConnell was not the only legislator to be hospitalized when his fall was announced last week.

At press time, 53-year-old Sen. John Fetterman remains in his fourth consecutive week of hospitalization due to “severe depression,” and just prior to McConnell’s fall, 89-year-old Diane Feinstein was briefly hospitalized after reportedly contracting shingles. 

McConnell’s health has long been a topic of discussion in political circles, especially among his critics.

In 2020, McConnell was spotted in public sporting hands that were severely bruised, and dotted with what appear to be bandaids. Dermatologists attributed the bruises to his advanced age.