Calls are growing for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to provide more information about his health as the former Senate Republican leader nears six weeks away from the Capitol after a June fall that led to his hospitalization.

The 84-year-old lawmaker has not voted in the Senate since mid-June, and his office has offered only limited updates about his condition, fueling online speculation and prompting calls from political allies and critics alike for greater transparency.

McConnell disclosed July 12 that he fell at his home June 14, was briefly unconscious and later developed a mild case of pneumonia while hospitalized. He said doctors determined he did not suffer a heart attack, stroke, concussion, hemorrhage or broken bones and later was transferred to a rehabilitation center.

At the time, McConnell said he was not yet ready to resume voting in the Senate but gave no timetable for his return.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said he has not heard directly from McConnell since the senator entered the hospital despite sending him a letter seeking an update. Beshear urged McConnell to make a brief public appearance or release a short video addressing his condition.

"When you've been in a hospital for a month and you've missed all the votes … you owe your boss, like anybody else out there who works, an explanation of what's been going on and when you'll get back," Beshear said.

Scott Jennings, a longtime McConnell ally and former campaign aide, also said the senator should provide more frequent public updates while recovering.

"Truthfully, I think a little transparency on the front end here would have saved him a whole lot of grief," Jennings told CNN's "The Arena with Kasie Hunt." "But that didn't happen and they are where they are now."

Jennings said he expected McConnell to update the public in the coming days.

McConnell spokesman David Popp said the senator has remained engaged in his official duties despite his absence from Washington.

"The Senator continues to meet with staff regarding Senate and Kentucky business, including discussions on defense appropriations, foreign policy, the farm bill, constituent services and constituent federal grant requests," Popp said. "As the Senator continues to improve in rehab, we will be sure to keep you updated."

Asked whether McConnell would return to the Senate soon or attend Tuesday's funeral for longtime colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Popp referred reporters to McConnell's July 12 statement.

In that statement, McConnell acknowledged that his generation often avoids discussing health struggles.

"Folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older," he said.

"Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct — I can't help it."

McConnell stepped down as Senate Republican leader last year after 18 years in the post but chose to remain in office through the end of his term in January.

His absence has reduced Republicans' working Senate majority, making each vote more important as Congress heads toward its final weeks before lawmakers leave Washington to campaign for the midterm elections.

Some Republican senators have joined Democrats in calling for additional information about McConnell's condition.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently said he wishes McConnell a speedy recovery but believes the senator owes the public more details.

"At a certain point you do have an obligation to your constituents and the country to tell them what's going on," Hawley told Fox News, adding that he felt "totally in the dark" about McConnell's condition.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also questioned a photograph McConnell released earlier this month before later retracting his comments, saying he had merely repeated an unverified rumor.

"It's not fun watching anybody age," Johnson told reporters. "We're all hoping Mitch recovers fully and comes back. I haven't talked to him, so I have no knowledge."

McConnell is hardly the first senator to miss an extended period because of illness.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., spent two months away from the Senate in 2023 while receiving treatment for depression. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., missed nearly three months that year while recovering from shingles before returning to the chamber. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., did not cast another Senate vote during the final eight months of his life in 2018, and former Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., was absent for nearly a year after suffering a stroke in 2012.

Lester Munson, who served as Kirk's chief of staff, said senators often continue handling legislative and constituent work even when they cannot return to the Capitol to vote.

"I think people kind of just assume — not really correctly — that if the senator's in the hospital or something like that, that they can't do their job," Munson said. "That's not entirely true. There's obviously some things they can't do … but a lot of other things continue to be carried on."

Munson added that McConnell's prominence has brought more intense public scrutiny than Kirk faced.

"As far as I'm concerned, this guy has given so much to the Senate over time and therefore so much to America, God bless him," Munson said. "He's got all the latitude in the world to deal with this problem."