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Both of Kentucky’s U.S. Senators, Paul and McConnell, are recuperating from surgeries


By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

Kentucky’s U.S. Senators are on the mend following surgeries this week.


U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is recovering from surgery due to an injury he suffered at his Louisville home earlier this month. 



Rand Paul, the state’s other U.S. senator, had part of a damaged lung removed earlier this month.


McConnell tripped on the outside patio at his residence the morning of Aug. 4, the day after he spoke at Fancy Farm, causing a fractured shoulder, according to his Communications Director David Popp.

Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell are both recuperating from surgeries. (Kentucky Today file photos)


Popp issued a statement on Friday with the news of his surgery, saying, “Senator McConnell had successful surgery yesterday in Louisville, Kentucky to repair a fracture in his shoulder. The surgery was performed without incident, and the Leader is grateful to the surgical team for their skill.”


The Senate is in its August recess, but Popp says McConnell continues to work from home.


Paul had to have part of a damaged lung removed after he was injured when a neighbor attacked him in the yard of his Bowling Green home two years ago.


During a Thursday interview on “Fox & Friends,” Paul said he’s trying to overcome the pain and getting his breathing back to normal, so he can finally put the incident behind him. 


He also talked about the neighbor who assaulted him, Rene Boucher, during the interview.


Boucher, a retired anesthesiologist, said the attack was sparked because he was agitated about piles of brush on Paul’s property. Boucher also claimed Paul used his lawnmower on the day of the attack to blow some leaves onto his property, igniting his outrage.


Paul told “Fox & Friends” that was not the motive.


”The man who attacked me was known on the Internet. His social media postings were violent, he talked about doing violence to the President,” Paul said. “That’s completely ignored because the media wanted to develop a narrative. I mean their whole narrative that it was an altercation or a fight. There was no fight. I had my back turned with noise cancellation headphones on and I was attacked and six of my ribs broken before I saw the attacker. In fact, I never saw the attacker until the attack was over.”


Boucher pleaded guilty in March 2018 to attacking Paul in a dispute where Boucher claims Paul was stacking debris by his yard, during a long-running dispute over lawn care. Paul suffered six broken ribs as a result of the assault.



Boucher received 30 days in jail for assaulting a member of Congress. In a separate civil suit, Paul was awarded more than $580,000 in punitive damages and for pain and suffering suffered from the attack. 




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