Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell paused during a news conference alongside other Republican leaders after their weekly party luncheon on Wednesday afternoon.
“Good afternoon, everyone. We’re on a path to finishing the NDAA this week, there’s been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of…” McConnell started, but then seemed to freeze, staring blankly for nearly a minute before his colleagues intervened.
BREAKING: Mitch McConnell has cognitive malfunction at podium
Has to be escorted away by fellow Senators
This man has clear cognitive impairments after sustaining serious head trauma from his fall a few months ago
It is clear that he should resign pic.twitter.com/iLNJvCRmx7
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 26, 2023
“You OK, Mitch?” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., inquired. “Is there anything else you want to say or should we just go back to your office?”
Following the brief pause, McConnell stepped to the side, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and others took over to address the press on the one-year anniversary of the Democrat-led Inflation Reduction Act passage. McConnell reappeared about 10 minutes later to finish the press conference.
A McConnell aide assured that the senator “felt light-headed and stepped away for a moment. He came back to handle Q and A, which as everyone observed was sharp.”
“I’m fine,” McConnell told reporters, assuring them that he was okay and proceeded to answer questions.
Earlier this year, McConnell, 81, suffered a concussion and fractured rib from a fall in a Washington hotel, leading to a period of recovery in an inpatient rehabilitation facility before returning to the Senate.
“I said I was concerned when he fell and hit his head a number of months ago and was hospitalized,” Barrasso told reporters later. “And I think he’s made a remarkable recovery. He’s doing a great job leading our conference, and he was able to answer every question that the press asked him today. And you may note he answered more questions than he normally does.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, assured the press after the conference: “As far as I know, everything’s OK.”
