Elaine Chao, former Transportation Secretary and wife of Senator Mitch McConnell, issued her first statement about her husband's ongoing hospitalization Tuesday, addressing the growing questions about why she remained in China for days after he was found unconscious and given CPR on June 14.
"The secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family's philanthropic endeavors," a spokesperson said in a statement to USA Today.
"During the trip, she met with a number of people, including the US ambassador. The Senator's health did not warrant an immediate return to the US."
Her spokesperson confirmed she has since returned to the United States. Chao had left for China on June 12, two days before McConnell's hospitalization.
On June 17, three days after he was admitted, Chinese state media photographed her seated alongside Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing before a backdrop of the Great Wall, while her husband remained in hospital with his condition undisclosed.
The statement has not quelled the speculation.
It does not address who found McConnell, when exactly she returned home, whether she has spoken with him since the hospitalization, or what his current condition is.
McConnell's own office has still not disclosed why he was hospitalized or offered a prognosis.
The last public statement from his team described him as continuing to improve and working with staff. He has not been publicly seen or heard from since June 11, his last vote.
He has been in hospital for nearly four weeks. His wife says it did not warrant an immediate return. That is the statement.