Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell left the Capitol in a wheelchair on Wednesday. The 82-year-old lawmaker required emergency medical help after two dangerous falls.
McConnell first slipped on the three-step stairway leaving the Senate chamber following the Housing Secretary confirmation vote.
“Panicked looks flashed across his congressional staff and security detail, who crowded around him to get him back on his feet,” according to witnesses at the scene.
Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Markwayne Mullin, R-O.K., rushed to help McConnell up before he walked unassisted to the Mansfield Room for a scheduled Republican lunch meeting.
During lunch, McConnell fell again while “carrying a plate of food and landed on his side,” Punchbowl News reported.
“Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” spokeswoman Stephanie Penn said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Capitol Police closed hallways as staff wheeled McConnell through the corridors. Security personnel and congressional aides flanked the senator during his transfer to his former leadership office, now occupied by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Medical staff evaluated McConnell following the second fall and confined him to a wheelchair.
Penn emphasized in her statement that McConnell would maintain his regular schedule despite being wheelchair-bound for the remainder of Wednesday.
The incidents forced schedule adjustments throughout the Capitol as security personnel established new protocols for McConnell’s movements through the Capitol complex.
Staff had to clear entire corridors ahead of his wheelchair transit between scheduled meetings and votes.
Senate leadership offices coordinated with McConnell’s team to ensure continued floor coverage while medical staff helped the senior Kentucky senator. Capitol medical personnel remained with the senator as he continued his duties from the wheelchair.
Pictures of McConnell leaving the Capitol in his wheelchair renewed calls by critics for congressional term limits.
Take a look —
Mitch McConnell in a wheelchair.
Nancy Pelosi with a walker.
This is just sad.
Term limits are needed for the health and wellbeing of elected officials. pic.twitter.com/2V1lrp6WeW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 6, 2025
🚨 JUST IN: Mitch McConnell is now being carted around in a wheelchair after falling TWICE today
Congress is a freaking nursing home. https://t.co/VHsu1ouuUh pic.twitter.com/VWsrdArhYv
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 5, 2025