lasted  roughly 20 minutes  and that McConnell was  fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate. 

CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, a former McConnell adviser, said Tuesday that his former boss had called him that day and  sounded strong. 

McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the history of the Senate, headed the GOP conference for 18 years before stepping down in January 2025. He was last seen at the Capitol June 4.

The senator suffered freeze-ups in public - as well as falls, one of which left him concussed and with a cracked rib in early 2023 - before announcing in February 2025 that he would not seek re-election this November.

McConnell was briefly hospitalized this past February and treated for flu-like symptoms. Since then, he'd often been seen on Capitol Hill being pushed around in a wheelchair.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) won a GOP primary election earlier this year to replace McConnell in a state that went for Trump in 2024 by more than 30 percentage points.

McConnell is the third-oldest serving senator, trailing Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 92, and fellow 84-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).