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Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell says he's been discharged from his rehabilitation facility and will continue to recover from home. Here's Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman.
SYLVIA GOODMAN, BYLINE: In a series of emails, Senator McConnell has provided statements with updates about his health and photos. But these have actually stirred up more speculation and even conspiracy theories about the aging senator's health. In a previous statement, McConnell said that he fell and briefly lost consciousness, landing him in the hospital on June 14. Then he says he picked up pneumonia during his hospitalization.
Now that he's discharged, McConnell said in the most recent statement, he will continue an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home. Objections have been severe from McConnell's critics, who say he hasn't been transparent enough with his constituents. Kentucky's Democratic Governor Andy Beshear sent a letter late last month telling him to be straight with Kentuckians or resign. He even criticized McConnell's junior colleague, Senator Rand Paul, for voting to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for not answering questions during a hearing on COVID-19.
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ANDY BESHEAR: So 85-year-old Anthony Fauci should be held in contempt in jail for not answering questions to Americans. But 84-year-old Mitch McConnell gets a complete and total pass after not showing up to work for seven weeks. It's a huge double standard. It's entirely partisan.
GOODMAN: That was before McConnell's statement. But Beshear has been adamant that McConnell should address his constituents via video or media interview instead of in writing. Adam Hope is the communications director for the Republican Party of Kentucky. He says the 84-year-old Senator has been working actively with his staff and will be able to do that even better now that he's recovering from home.
ADAM HOPE: I feel like the senator has been very forthright with the people of Kentucky. You know, he's released multiple statements, photographs, things of that nature that prove that he's still able to maintain his duties.
GOODMAN: At the annual Fancy Farm political picnic this past weekend in western Kentucky, an event he usually makes a point of attending, McConnell was noticeably absent. Republican attendees had mixed feelings about McConnell, who doesn't always vote the way President Trump wants him to. Many said they want to make sure Kentuckians are fully represented in the Senate. Some hoped he'd get better in time to pass the torch. McConnell's term ends in early January, after a four-decade-long career. And the race to replace him is well underway.
For NPR News, I'm Sylvia Goodman in Louisville, Kentucky.
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