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Senate

McConnell’s Absence is Grinding Some Senate Business to a Halt

Farm bill and government funding negotiations are at a standstill without Sen. Mitch McConnell, with just 10 legislative weeks left this year.

Mitch McConnell

Sen. Mitch McConnell has been away from the Senate for more than a month. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

By Avani Kalra and Al Weaver

July 23, 2026 05:04 p.m.

Updated: July 23, 2026 06:22 p.m.

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s extended absence has thrown a number of the Senate’s top priorities into limbo.

McConnell has not voted since he was hospitalized following a fall on June 14, and it’s still unclear when the Kentucky Republican will return to the upper chamber. His absence has complicated the math for leadership on several key votes as Republicans continue to grapple with a slim majority and only 10 legislative weeks before the end of the year.

“We’re at 52” Republican votes, Majority Leader John Thune told NOTUS, versus the 53 seats the party holds in the Senate. “This is the reality.”