Mitch McConnell sprains wrist and cuts his face after fall in the Capitol
GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell tripped on Tuesday, spraining his wrist and sustaining “a minor cut to the face,” his office said in a statement.
The incident is the latest in a high-profile string of health issues for the 82-year-old Kentucky Republican.
“Leader McConnell tripped following lunch. He sustained a minor cut to the face and sprained his wrist. He has been cleared to resume his schedule,” a McConnell spokesman said in a statement.
Senators told CNN that McConnell took a fall in the Capitol, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN that McConnell is “fine.”
“He is fine, he’s in his office, and any other questions about Sen. McConnell I’ll refer to staff,” Thune said at a GOP press conference where the Kentucky Republican was absent.
Last year, the longtime Senate GOP leader was treated for a concussion after a fall at a hotel in Washington, D.C. CNN later reported that McConnell had fallen multiple times that year.
There were also two incidents last year in which McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up while speaking to reporters – once in Kentucky and another time on Capitol Hill.
McConnell will remain Senate GOP leader, until the start of the new Congress in early January.
At that time, Thune, who was elected by the Senate GOP conference to succeed McConnell, will take over.
McConnell is expected to continue to serve in his Senate seat until his term expires in January 2027.
