Mitch McConnell Falls Down Senate Stairs: What We Know

Evening Politics Editor

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell fell down the stairs in the Senate on Wednesday, multiple media outlets reported.

"Senator McConnell is fine," McConnell's spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement. "The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work."

The Context

Wednesday's fall is the latest in a series of health-related incidents McConnell, 82, has had in recent years.

He announced last February that he would be stepping down as Senate Majority Leader.

What To Know

Fox News' Chad Pergram reported that the Kentucky senator was helped to his feet by Republican Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

Pergram reported that McConnell fell after voting to confirm Scott Turner as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

HuffPost's Igor Bobic and Punchbowl News' John Bresnahan reported that McConnell fell again after being helped to his feet. Bobic reported that the Kentucky senator was able to get up on his own after the second fall and that his colleagues were "huddled around him" at the Senate lunch.

McConnell was seen in a wheelchair after falling.

Senator Mitch McConnell walks through the Senate Subway in the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Wednesday's incident comes less than two months after McConnell fell following a Senate lunch, resulting in a sprained wrist and a cut on his face.

In March 2023, McConnell, the third oldest U.S. senator, fell at a hotel in Washington, D.C., and was hospitalized after suffering a concussion and a fractured rib. The Kentucky lawmaker took a six-week absence from the Senate following the fall.

Four months later, McConnell again fell while getting off a flight that was canceled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He was not seriously hurt.

The former Republican leader also had two episodes in 2023 in which he appeared to freeze up in front of television cameras. He told reporters after one of the incidents that he was "fine" and the Capitol Hill physician cleared him to work.

McConnell had polio when he was 2 years old and his upper left leg was paralyzed as a result of the illness.

According to the latest nationwide poll conducted by Pew Research Center, most Americans—79 percent—believe there should be an age ceiling for elected officials to serve in Washington, D.C.