Washington: Concerns about senior Republican Mitch McConnell’s health have been reignited after the Senate Minority Leader froze for more than 20 seconds during a press conference and had to be escorted away by colleagues.
The 81-year-old, one of the most powerful men in the US Congress, was making opening remarks about an annual defence bill when his voice trailed off and he suddenly stopped talking.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.Credit: AP
McConnell stared into the distance for about 23 seconds until colleagues, realising something was wrong, came to his aid.
“Are you good? Mitch?” Senator Joni Ernst asked as she put her hand on McConnell’s arm.
Senator John Barrasso, a former physician, then came up and also gripped McConnell’s arm, whispering: “Hey Mitch, anything else you want to say or should we just go back to your office? Do you want to say anything else to the press?”
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McConnell was escorted away but walked back to the news conference by himself about 10 minutes later.
Asked about his health, he insisted he was “fine” but did not elaborate on what had happened. Pressed on whether he could still do his job, he replied: “yeah”. A staffer later explained to reporters that he was simply feeling lightheaded.
However, the unnerving moment comes after McConnell tripped and fell at a dinner in March, which resulted in him being hospitalised for days and treated for concussion and a rib fracture. The Kentucky Republican was at a Senate Leadership Fund event at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington when the incident happened, fuelling concerns around Capitol Hill about the potential long-term impact of such a fall.
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