Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell slipped and fell on the stairs leaving the Senate Chamber on Wednesday afternoon, prompting concerned aides to rush to help the 82-year-old lawmaker.
McConnell, who had polio as a toddler, paralyzing his upper left leg, appeared to slip and fall back onto the three-step stairway leading from the chamber to the Ohio Clock Corridor, causing panicked looks to flash across his congressional staff and security detail, who crowded around him to get him back on his feet.
Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) were also there to lend a helping hand.
Once helped back up, McConnell took a few steps while steadying himself on the arm of security personnel but then dropped the assistance and walked the rest of way to the Mansfield Room for a Republican lunch meeting without assistance.
GOP senators say McConnell, the third oldest member of the Senate, lost balance and fell again during the lunch meeting.
When he emerged from the room at the end of the meeting, Capitol police closed the hallway as he walked back to his old Capitol Building office — which is now occupied by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) — flanked by staff and security personnel.
McConnell was later spotted being wheeled through the Capitol in a wheelchair.
Previous incidents involving McConnell:
- In August 2019, McConnell fell at his home and suffered a broken shoulder.
- In March 2023, he fell at a Washington, D.C. hotel and was diagnosed with a concussion. He was hospitalized for “a few days of observation and treatment,” according to NPR. McConnell took a six-week absence from the Senate following the fall.
- In July 2023, McConnell appeared to briefly freeze midsentence during a press conference in D.C.
- Then, about a month later, McConnell froze again, this time for roughly 30 seconds, as he spoke to reporters in Covington.
(Photo: Sen. Mitch McConnell speaking at the Kentucky Farm Bureau ham breakfast at Fancy Farm in August 2024, courtesy of the Associated Press)
By The Hill and Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
