Three closely watched ailing senators remain away from the Capitol this week and it’s not clear when they will return. One of them, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has spoken directly with some members of his leadership team and conveyed to them he is doing well and anxious to get back to work.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, continues to make progress in his treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed Medical Center while also staying in close contact with key members of his staff, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Fetterman has not said when he plans to return to the Senate. The senator entered treatment for clinical depression in February. He suffered a stroke in May 2022 in the days leading up to the Pennsylvania primary.
And 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat of California, has not returned to the Senate after being treated in the hospital, and now at home, for shingles. Her aides won’t speculate about when she will return.
As it is still early in the new congressional session, it’s not clear if the absences are creating real roadblocks to passing bills or approving nominees. The Senate has a two-week recess after the end of next week, which could provide the three senators a little added cushion of time to regain their good health and return to the Senate in mid-April, although that’s not certain.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said McConnell is “chomping at the bit” to get back to work, and that the 81-year-old Kentucky senator “sounds very sharp” following a fall two weeks ago that left him with a concussion and a fractured rib.
After being discharged from the hospital, his office said the next step would be for McConnell to go to a rehabilitation facility for physical therapy.
“He sounds very sharp,” Cornyn said when asked to describe how…
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