Mitch McConnell cast one vote and skipped the next two, and his office hasn’t answered questions about where he went

Mitch McConnell returned to the Capitol on Monday after 92 days away, saying he would do his best to show up for tough votes. Three days later, McConnell missed two of the three roll call votes, according to The Daily Beast. He voted in the first one and was not recorded on the other two.

The official record shows McConnell voted yea on the motion to advance the Protect College Sports Act, the first vote of the afternoon. He is then listed as not voting on the cloture motion for judicial nominee Kasdin Miller Mitchell, and on Mitchell’s confirmation vote that followed.

Four senators missed the cloture motion and six were absent for the confirmation, so McConnell was not alone. His absence did not change the result, as Mitchell was confirmed 49-45. However, the timing makes the absences notable, coming three days after he told reporters he would do his best to show up for tough votes.

McConnell never said he would be at every vote

McConnell was blunt about his condition when he arrived back at the Capitol. He said his recovery had been long and frustrating, and that the lingering effects of childhood polio had not made it easier. He added that he is “still not quite back to 100 percent.”

That makes his attendance selective rather than routine, a shift from how McConnell worked for most of four decades in the chamber. The pattern showed up earlier in the week, as he missed the first roll call on Tuesday morning before voting in two afternoon roll calls.

His 92-day absence began with a fall at his Washington home in June. He was hospitalized with pneumonia before moving to a rehabilitation facility. He was discharged in early August and returned to the Capitol this week in a wheelchair.

His attendance matters even more in committee, where Republicans hold a one-seat edge on the Senate Agriculture panel. The committee failed to advance the farm bill in August while McConnell was away because it lacked enough members to proceed. It approved the bill 12-11 on Wednesday, but McConnell’s awkward vote still drew heavy criticism online.

Sen. Thom Tillis said he had a long conversation with McConnell a day after the vote. Tillis said he spent 20 seconds asking about his health before McConnell moved on to protecting the filibuster and Ukraine. The senator called it “classic Mitch.”

With Republicans holding a narrow Senate margin, even one absence can complicate nominations and committee work. McConnell’s role has changed since he stepped down as Republican leader, and he is set to leave the chamber in January 2027.

The current farm bill extension expires September 30, potentially sending the legislation to the Senate floor within days and giving McConnell the kind of tough vote he said he would try to show up for.