Watch Mitch McConnell cast deciding vote on Senate farm bill - USA Today

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, cast a crucial vote for Senate Republicans to advance a farm bill on Sept. 16, days after returning to Congress from a months-long absence.

With McConnell's vote, the Senate Agriculture Committee moved to advance a farm bill, or a massive legislative package that sets national agriculture, nutrition, conservation and forestry policy, out of committee. Despite opposition from Democrats on the committee, the bill advanced 12-11 with Republicans voting along party lines.

The Republican senator returned to the Senate on Sept. 14, capping his prolonged absence after a fall and bout with pneumonia landed him in the hospital.

McConnell's time away from Capitol Hill sparked widespread speculation about his well-being.

"I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues," he said in a Sept. 14 statement before casting an early evening vote, his first since his return.

McConnell, sitting in a wheelchair, cast his vote on the farm bill on Sept. 16, voting along party lines to give the legislation the push it needed to advance out of committee.

When called on, the 84-year-old appeared to raise his finger, seemingly in favor of the bill. Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, who was sitting to McConnell's left, then leaned over and appeared to say something to him.

After McConnell's name was called a second time, the senator can be heard saying "aye" in a soft-spoken voice.

Watch the video at the top of this story.

Later, McConnell posted a statement on social media, in part saying he "was proud to vote yes" on the bill.

"My hope is the bill receives robust bipartisan support on the Senate floor and demonstrates our commitment to our Nation’s farmers and rural communities," he said.

Though known colloquially as the "farm bill," the legislation is titled The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. A sprawling agriculture package, the farm bill is usually passed every five years, though it has not been updated since 2018.