(The Center Square) – Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s incident Wednesday, when he suddenly stopped talking during a press conference, appears to be the latest leading to questions about the lawmaker’s health.
NBC News reported Wednesday night McConnell had an incident two weeks ago at Regan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, where he fell as he deboarded a plane.
McConnell’s office declined to comment to NBC and other media outlets.
Earlier Wednesday, McConnell stopped talking midway through a sentence during a press conference in Washington. He was escorted away from the microphone but returned a short time later to tell reporters he was fine.
Media outlets also reported McConnell received a call from President Biden after the press conference incident. McConnell, 81, relayed to reporters he told the President, whom he served with for more than two decades in the Senate, that he got “sandbagged,” a reference to a remark made by Biden, 80, after he fell during a graduation ceremony last month at the Air Force Academy.
A request for comment regarding Wednesday’s incident from McConnell’s office was not immediately returned Thursday.
First elected in 1984, McConnell is Kentucky’s longest-serving U.S. senator. His seat is up for election in 2026, but last month, he declined to comment when the Lexington Herald-Leader asked if he is considering running for a seventh term.
“You’re asking me to predict what I might do three years from now,” he said at an event at the University of Kentucky. “I don’t have a prediction on that.”
In March, McConnell fell at a hotel near Washington, suffering a concussion and breaking a rib. He went to a rehab facility and returned to Capitol Hill six weeks later in mid-April.
CNN also reported that McConnell tripped and fell during a visit to Finland in February.
Besides being Kentucky’s longest-tenured senator, McConnell is also tied with former U.S. Sen. Michael J. Mansfield, D-Mont., for being the longest-serving party leader in the chamber, each having led for 16 years. Mansfield led the Democrats as majority leader from 1961 to 1977.
McConnell became the top GOP senator in 2007. From 2015 to 2021, he served as the majority leader.
