Mitch McConnell freezes and escorted away during press conference, bounces Back, 'I'm fine'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a brief health scare during a news conference but later confirmed that he was fine and able to do his job.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had a brief health scare Wednesday afternoon when he stopped speaking in the middle of a weekly Republican leadership news conference and was escorted away.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, is helped by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, after the 81-year-old GOP leader froze at the microphones as he arrived for a news conference, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. McConnell went to his office for a few minutes and returned to speak with reporters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(AP)

McConnell, R-Ky., was talking about an annual defense policy bill when he suddenly went silent. He did not speak for 19 seconds. His Republican colleagues asked if he was OK, and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a doctor, and a top McConnell deputy, walked him away from the cameras and reporters.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa made a gesture that looked like the sign of the cross at first. Her office later said she was motioning for Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota. A few minutes later, McConnell came back to the news conference by himself. He said he was fine when asked about his health. He said, “Yeah” when asked whether he can do his job fully.

An aide said McConnell “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment.”

“He came back to handle Q&A, which as everyone observed was sharp,” the aide said.

McConnell spoke to reporters briefly Wednesday night as he left the Capitol and said, “The president called to check on me.”

“I told him I got sandbagged,” he joked.

A White House official and a spokesperson for the senator confirmed that President Joe Biden and McConnell talked on the phone Wednesday. McConnell said, “I’m fine” when asked by reporters how he was doing. He did not directly answer what happened earlier or whether he saw a doctor.

McConnell fell and hit his head on March 8 after an event for the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC aligned with McConnell and GOP leadership at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. He was hospitalized with a concussion and a minor rib fracture and was discharged on March 13 before he went to rehab.

He didn’t come back to the Senate until mid-April.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told NBC News on Wednesday that he had a regular meeting with McConnell after the Senate GOP leadership news conference “to catch up on both houses.”

“He was good,” McCarthy said. “There was no concerns about his health in the meeting.”

McConnell has been in the Senate since 1985. He won’t face re-election until the 2026 midterm elections.