Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the health of 79-year-old Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Politico reports.
Cochran's office insisted he will return to work on Monday after recovering the last several weeks from a urological procedure.
But there has been limited information about the status of his health, which has sparked speculation about his future, Politico noted.
Several sources tell Politico that the Republican senator is not likely to return next week as scheduled and there are concerns he could be out the rest of the year. However, Senate Republican aides said they believe he will return on Monday.
President Donald Trump had noted in a Sept. 27 tweet about the healthcare vote that one "yes" vote was in the hospital. And USA Today reported White House officials believed Trump was referring to Cochran.
But Cochran, in his own tweet later that same day, denied he was in the hospital.
And he maintained in another tweet, he would be returning to work on Oct. 16.
Cochran chairs the appropriations committee and will play a key role in government funding as Congress faces a mid-December deadline to keep federal agencies open, Politico noted. He is not up for re-election until 2020.
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