Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fell over during a Senate lunch on Tuesday and medical staff were quickly called in. Although Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said McConnell was “fine,” he reportedly had a cut on his face and needed a wheelchair.
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It’s the latest in a series of health issues for the 82-year-old, who had a strange “freezing” episode in August of 2023 after appearing to be unaware of where he was in July of that same year.
MCCONNELL IS GETTING MEDICAL TREATMENT AFTER A FALL: PUNCHBOWL pic.twitter.com/2DNwM98Y9m
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) December 10, 2024
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The Kentucky Republican had already announced that he was stepping down from his leadership post:
McConnell was the longest-serving GOP leader in Senate history with a roughly 18-year tenure.
But his yearslong feud with Trump put him at odds with many in the GOP who wanted a MAGA leader going into the president-elect’s second term.
Earlier this year, he shocked colleagues by announcing he would be stepping down from the leadership role.
It’s not the first time he has fallen:
McConnell fell multiple times in the weeks before he froze for 20 seconds at the Capitol in July 2023 and had to be helped by his colleagues.
He had ‘faceplanted’ when getting off a plane at Washington’s Reagan Airport, which sparked a series of incidents raising concerns about his health.
McConnell joked about his worrying pause and insisted he was ‘fine,’ but his office had not confirmed what caused the episode.
In addition to the plane incident, McConnell fell two other times in 2023, one of which resulted in a concussion.
There was also widespread speculation over whether he has been neurologically impacted by the spills.
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South Dakota Sen. John Thune has already been tapped to take on McConell’s leadership role:
Last month, Sen. John Thune, 63, was elected to replace McConnell and usher in Donald Trump‘s ambitious agenda with a new GOP majority.
Joining Thune, South Dakota, in leadership are Assistant Majority Leader: John Barrasso, Wyoming, Conference Chair Tom Cotton, Arkansas, Policy Committee Chair Shelly Moore Capito, West Virginia, and Conference Vice Chair: James Lankford, Oklahoma.
RedState will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Update 12/10/24 3:30 ET: McConnell also reportedly suffered a sprained wrist from the accident.
