Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has fallen at least three times this year, including two previously unreported incidents, according to multiple reports.
Unidentified sources told CNN that the Kentucky Republican fell as he was getting out of his car while visiting Finland with a U.S. delegation in February. He tripped and fell on his way to a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, the news network reported.
McConnell and other Republican senators met with Niinistö in Helsinki on Feb. 24.
Days later on March 8, McConnell tripped at a hotel in Washington, D.C. He suffered a concussion and a fractured rib in the fall, which kept him from working in the Senate until mid-April, according to Bloomberg News.
Earlier this month, the 81-year-old fell while getting off a plane at Reagan National Airport in Washington, sources told CNN and NBC News.
He was not seriously hurt in the fall, although another passenger on the plane — who did not see the fall — said he had a “face plant,” according to NBC News. The news network reported that McConnell has recently been using a wheelchair as a precaution in airports.
The senator had polio as a child and walks with a limp, according to NPR. He told The Associated Press in 2020 that he still has trouble navigating stairs.
He was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and became the longest-serving party leader in the chamber’s history in January.
Scrutiny over McConnell’s health intensified Wednesday after he froze for more than 20 seconds while addressing reporters.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell begins his weekly press conference, freezes for 20 seconds, and then is escorted away by fellow Republicans. pic.twitter.com/mYdBaU0Acv
— The Recount (@therecount) July 26, 2023
A few minutes later, he said he was “fine,” but he did not elaborate on what caused the pause. One of his aides told CNN that he “felt light headed and stepped away for a moment.”
