WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell fell and scratched himself Tuesday after a celebratory lunch but is “fine” after returning to his office, according to a senator who was with him when it happened.
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate and a physician, said McConnell walked back to his office unassisted after the fall and suffered “a little scratch.” Medical personnel were seen bringing a wheelchair to McConnell’s office just before a scheduled weekly news conference. McConnell, who will leave his leadership position at the end of this year, was not present.
Barrasso said he was walking out of lunch with McConnell when he tripped and fell. He said he then walked back to his office with the old leader. He said McConnell was “100 percent” alert.
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McConnell’s fall was the latest in a string of medical incidents in recent years. He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling at a downtown hotel. Once he returned, he froze twice during press conferences and stared blankly into space before colleagues and staff came to his aid.
McConnell, 83, has been in the Senate since 1984 and has been Republican leader since 2007. Senator John Thune of South Dakota will become Senate majority leader next year if Republicans regain the majority. Thune also told reporters that McConnell was “fine.”
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
