WASHINGTON — Nearly two weeks after a fall that left him with a concussion and a broken rib, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke on the phone with at least three of his colleagues Tuesday, expressing a desire to get back to the Capitol but not sharing an exact timeline for his return.
The conversations mark the first time McConnell has spoken with anyone on his leadership team — apart from exchanging text messages — since his fall. McConnell had also not spoken directly with President Joe Biden or Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who both called shortly after the accident.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., McConnell’s top deputy, said he spoke to him for about five minutes Tuesday.
“He sounded like Mitch,” Thune said. “Talked about what’s happening on the floor, all the great messages he’d gotten from colleagues.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said McConnell sounded eager to get back.
“He sounded very sharp,” Cornyn said. “I think just frustrated, as you might imagine, having to go through all this.”
McConnell also spoke to Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
The 81-year-old McConnell was hospitalized for five days and treated for a concussion after he tripped while attending a private dinner at a Washington hotel March 8. Last week, McConnell checked into an inpatient rehabilitation center, his spokesman said, where he’s receiving physical therapy before going home.