Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell falls down Senate stairs, is seen using a wheelchair
Kentucky senior Senator Mitch McConnell fell down the stairs in Washington Wednesday afternoon, according to media reports.
A spokesperson for McConnell’s office confirmed the fall in a press statement asserting that the 82-year-old senator was “fine.”
“Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” the spokesperson wrote.
Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram posted to social media site X that the incident occurred after McConnell voted to confirm Scott Turner as the secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Unclear about injuries. But Fox is told he appears to be ok. McConnell was helped up by Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK),” Pergram posted.
Another reporter with Washington outlet Punchbowl News witnessed the fall.
“Sen McConnell just fell down the stairs on his way out of the chamber,” Diego Areas Munhoz wrote on X. “He got up with the help from some senators and seemed to walk it off as he left.”
Later this afternoon following a GOP luncheon, McConnell was seen being pushed in a wheelchair by a staffer. An aide said the wheelchair was being used as a precautionary measure.
A survivor of childhood polio, McConnell’s frailty has been the subject of private conversations in the Senate for many months.
After his last fall in December — which caused him to wear a bandage under his left eye and a medical brace on his left hand — a chorus of Trump supporters called on him to resign.
Prior to that, he experienced two high-profile “freeze up” incidents on camera. Both occurred during the Summer of 2023 — one at a press conference in Washington and another at an event in Northern Kentucky.
In March 2023, McConnell had to go the hospital after falling at a dinner event in Washington.
The incidents have prompted questions over whether or not McConnell will seek reelection in 2026, when his seat is next on the ballot.
McConnell has not publicly made a commitment either way.
McConnell was just replaced by South Dakota U.S. Senator John Thune as leader of the Senate Republican caucus.
Herald-Leader reporter Dave Catanese contributed to this report.
This breaking news story may be updated.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
