Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Hospitalized After Fall: Spokesperson

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, (R. Ky.), was hospitalized following a fall in a Washington hotel, his spokesperson confirmed March 8.

David Popp, the spokesperson for Senator 81, said that Senator had been attending a private dinner at an area hotel when he fell.

“This evening, Leader McConnell tripped at a local hotel during a private dinner. He has been admitted to the hospital where he is receiving treatment,” Popp stated, but did not provide further information.

McConnell, the Senate’s longest-serving GOP leader, had been at an event at the Waldorf Astoria when he fell, according to Punchbowl News.

Republican lawmaker, Donald Trump, was hospitalized previously in 2019 after he fell at his Kentucky home. He fractured his shoulder.

A spokesperson was present at the time for Senator. said he had tripped on the outdoor patio at his residence in Louisville and received medical treatment.

McConnell was diagnosed with polio as a child and has been able to survive the illness ever since.

The Battle Against Polio

While the majority of individuals with polio do not display any visible symptoms, a small portion of those diagnosed develop serious symptoms that impact the brain and spinal cord, including meningitis and paralysis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2018, McConnell told a conference on polio eradication at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that doctors had warned his mother that he shouldn’t walk after his diagnosis.

His symptoms included paralysis in part of his left leg and, at the time time, he periodically visited a polio rehabilitation institute for treatment.

“So my mother, like a drill sergeant, literally watched me every waking moment for two years,” McConnell said. “After two years, my first memory in life was our last visit to Warm Springs, where the nurse told my mother, ‘I think he’s going to be OK.'”

His experience inspired him to support vaccine efforts as well as the tracking of cases around the globe.

“I think it’s under-appreciated outside the public health community just how much hard work and innovation has to continue after a disease has dropped off the front pages,” McConnell said, adding that without continued support, “progress could erode rapidly.”

McConnell was elected first to the U.S. Senate on August 14, 1984. He served as the Senate majority leader between 2015 and 2021 and has been the Senate’s minority leader ever since.

Prior to his election, he was the judge-executive for Jefferson County in Kentucky since 1978.

More Lawmakers Hospitalized

McConnell’s hospitalization comes shortly after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest member of the Senate, was hospitalized after contracting shingles.

“I was diagnosed over the February recess with a case of the shingles,” Feinstein’s office released a statement March 2nd. “I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery. I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”

The Democrat is now released from hospital, although it is unclear when she will return to Washington.

Elsewhere, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), 53, who suffered a stroke during his campaign trail last year, remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he has been receiving treatment for clinical depression since last month.

His office said Late last month, he announced that he was “doing well, working with the wonderful doctors, and remains on a path to recovery.”

The absences of the Democratic lawmakers have made things difficult for Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is already navigating a very narrow 51-49 majority as opposed to the 50-50 split of the previous two years.

The Epoch Times has contacted McConnell’s office for comment.

This report was compiled by Reuters