WASHINGTON (AP) — Staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said last week that the senator is “continuing his recovery” in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader’s condition during his weekslong hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, according to a statement from his office that only said he was “receiving excellent care.” A statement a week later said that he would not be voting that week. And on Thursday, a new statement said that he “continues to improve” and ”appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
His office has not released any updates since then, and a spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on Monday.
The senator’s unspecified health issues come after several hospitalizations in recent years, and as Senate Republicans are already navigating a narrow majority in the final months before the midterm elections. McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role. He is serving out his final term, which ends in January.
While he was still Republican leader, McConnell was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff came to his assistance. A year later, he fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon.
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs. He also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky and underwent surgery for a fractured shoulder.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period. He has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, often using a wheelchair to get around.
FILE - Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives for a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Monday in Syria, making him the first major western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited in April but Macron is the first leader from western Europe or North America to do so.
The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon. He will travel next to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit, where Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to attend and hold a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said Macron would visit with a business delegation to discuss regional security as well as business and investment opportunities.
The French president was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.
“I have come to express France’s commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbors,” Macron said in a post on X. “Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace.”
France supports all those who can “contribute to build a new Syria” in line with the aspirations expressed since the 2011 Arab Spring, Macron’s office said, referring to a period of widespread uprisings across the Middle East that called for political change and reform.
Macron will meet with al-Sharaa at the presidential palace and “engage directly with diverse Syrian people,” his office said.
The French president's meetings are scheduled throughout Tuesday, beginning with members of Syrian civil society, his office said, though no details were disclosed. Macron will then meet with al-Sharaa, before holding economic talks and signing memorandums of understanding. The two leaders will hold a joint news conference afterward.
Macron hosted al-Sharaa in Paris in May 2025, where he urged European and U.S. leaders to lift longstanding sanctions on Damascus. Most of those sanctions had since been lifted.
Paris supported Syria's new leadership even at a time where others were skeptical of al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led rule and former role as the head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group, previously linked to al-Qaida.
Western governments were especially concerned about the treatment and inclusion of women and minorities, and whether Syria's new government would transition into a more democratic rule.
Syria has managed to sidestep the region's recent conflicts, but the country is still battered from 13 years of war that left much of it in ruins, drove millions into poverty, and will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild. While Syria has signed memorandums of understanding with states and large companies for large investment projects, they have not yet come to fruition.
Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press journalist Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
The convoy of French President Emmanuel Macron enters Damascus after arriving in Syria, becoming the first major Western leader to visit the country since Bashar Assad's ouster in 2024, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
The convoy of French President Emmanuel Macron enters Damascus after arriving in Syria, becoming the first major Western leader to visit the country since Bashar Assad's ouster in 2024, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks with the Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during the EU Summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)
