Mitch McConnell’s return to Washington is drawing fresh attention after a video showed the 84-year-old senator declining to answer a reporter’s questions and instead slowly raising two fingers in a “peace” sign.
The brief exchange happened Tuesday as McConnell was being taken from his Washington home to the Capitol for an evening vote.
Video recorded by reporter Desirée Townsend showed the Kentucky Republican being pushed in a wheelchair toward a waiting vehicle.
Townsend asked about his weekend and whether he wanted to return to work.
McConnell did not answer verbally.
Instead, he turned toward her, raised his right hand and formed a two-finger gesture before the vehicle door closed.
The moment quickly spread online because it came only days after McConnell returned to the Senate following a lengthy medical absence.
But the video by itself cannot establish anything about his cognitive condition, mental state or ability to perform his duties.
McConnell has publicly said he is still recovering.
He returned to Capitol Hill on Sept. 14 after being absent for roughly three months following a June fall at his home.
McConnell later disclosed that the fall briefly left him unconscious and that he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia while hospitalized.
He also said doctors determined he had not suffered a heart attack, stroke, broken bones or a concussion.
His rehabilitation continued for weeks.
McConnell was discharged from a rehabilitation facility in August and continued intensive physical therapy at home before returning to the Senate.
When he finally returned, McConnell acknowledged that the recovery had been difficult.
“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process,” he said in a statement.
He added that the lingering effects of childhood polio had complicated his rehabilitation and conceded that he was “still not quite back to 100%.”
The senator nevertheless said he intended to be present for important votes when Republicans needed him.
That has made his recent appearances particularly closely watched.
Last week, McConnell attended a Senate Agriculture Committee meeting dealing with the farm bill.
Video from the hearing showed some confusion over the voting procedure as people around him clarified which vote was taking place.
One account described Sen. John Hoeven initially telling McConnell the wrong way to vote because Hoeven misunderstood which procedural question was before the committee.
McConnell ultimately repeated his “aye” vote, and the legislation advanced 12-11.
That context is important because some coverage characterized the episode simply as McConnell needing to be told how to vote.
The available reporting indicates the exchange was more complicated than that.
There was confusion in the room about the parliamentary procedure itself, and McConnell ultimately cast the vote he intended.
Still, his limited public speaking and use of a wheelchair have kept attention focused on his recovery.
Tuesday’s exchange was another example.
Townsend first addressed McConnell’s chief of staff, Terry Carmack, asking whether it was safe for the senator to be returning to work.
Carmack did not respond.
She then directed her questions to McConnell.
“Do you want to go to work?” she asked.
“Would you rather be home?”
McConnell gave no verbal answer before making the two-finger gesture.
It was not the first time he had used the gesture recently.
Reports
