By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-11 20:31:55 | Updated at 2024-12-24 16:15:53
1 week ago
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is facing calls to retire after getting pictured Wednesday looking frail after falling over and injuring himself the day before.
At 82, the outgoing leader of the Senate Republicans has been battling a string of health issues over the last few years, including multiple falls, including one where he was treated for a concussion.
On Tuesday, the Republican's tumble sent shock waves through the Capitol, with the press rushing to his office to catch a glimpse of the leader and to see if he was alright.
He sprained his wrist and suffered a cut on his face.
Following the fall a medical official indicated to press that he was okay despite the tumble. Later, McConnell was seen walking around work, business as usual despite the dust up.
But one day later, the Kentuckian entered the Senate looking unsteady and gripping firmly onto an aide's forearm as he made the short walk from his office to the Senate floor.
He was watching his steps along the way as he slowly meandered down the hallway, fueling calls for him to retire.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is assisted by staff as he goes to the Senate Chamber to vote on December 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
The Republican received a bandage to treat a cut on his face under his left eye
The senator sustained an injury to his left wrist. Here McConnell is seen in a cast
'McConnell needs to resign. This is embarrassing. The Senate is not an old age home,' Libs of TikTok posted on X.
'How are the same people who were screaming for Joe Biden to step aside not also demanding McConnell step down from the Senate?' journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote.
'After McConnell's fall yesterday ... I thought it was fair to share this photo we got from DCA the day after the election,' journalist Emily Jahinsky wrote on X with a photo of McConnell being rolled around in a chair at a Washington, D.C. airport.
'Not a bombshell, but evidence the senator is struggling with age beyond what's being projected publicly.'
'We need to be actively encouraging elderly politicians to retire. And not just during the primary. It’s the humane thing to do,' conservative pundit Marina Medvin wrote on X.
'Mitch McConnell isn’t even a Boomer, he’s from the Silent Generation! I’ve been saying it was his time to step down for years now. This is getting ridiculous.'
'Mitch McConnell needs to retire ASAP,' attorney Paul Ingrassia wrote on X.
The latest health scare with the octogenarian, who first took office in 1985, comes after his shock announcement he would be stepping down from leadership earlier this year.
To some GOP senators his stepping down came as a relief as McConnell has had a yearslong feud with President-elect Donald Trump.
McConnell and Trump just met face-to-face this year for the first time since the president-elect's first term. The Kentuckian denounced Trump after January 6, but the two have since developed what appears to be a working relationship.
Still, McConnell's health episodes continue to be a concern.
He suffered several health scares following a fall last year leading to bizarre 'freezing episodes' that sparked questions over his cognitive abilities.
McConnell fell multiple times in the weeks before he froze for 20 seconds at the Capitol in July 2023 and had to be helped by his colleagues.
He had 'faceplanted' when getting off a plane at Washington's Reagan Airport, too.
McConnell joked about his worrying pause and insisted he was 'fine,' but his office had not confirmed what caused the episode.
The walk from McConnell's office to the Senate floor where he goes to deliver speeches and vote is short compared to other senators. As the longtime leader, McConnell's office is in the Capitol, where other senators not in leadership have offices in auxiliary buildings
The aide seemingly accompanied McConnell to and from the chamber on Wednesday
McConnell's ally Sen. John Barrasso told reporters the leader was fine
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. wears a bandage on his face as he walks to cast a vote on the Senate floor after falling during a luncheon on Capitol Hill
In addition to the plane incident, McConnell fell two other times in 2023, one of which resulted in a concussion.
There was also widespread speculation over whether he has been neurologically impacted by the spills.
When announcing his plans to step down from leadership, he said it has been a 'particularly difficult' period for his family after his sister-in-law Angela Chao drowned on her Texas property in February.
'I turned 82 last week, the end of my contributions are closer than I would prefer,' he continued on the floor.
'If you would have told me 40 years later that I would stand before you as the longest serving senate leader in American history, franky I would have told you, you lost your mind,' a very emotional McConnell said in a lighthearted moment.
The Minority Leader, a survivor of polio, made light of the recent health scare on Wednesday, saying he told President Joe Biden that he too had been 'sandbagged' after freezing mid-sentence.
Paramedics roll a wheelchair to the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after he fell
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks off the Senate floor after falling
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fell over during a Senate lunch on Tuesday
Reports indicate that McConnell has fallen at least three times this year – and other questions regarding his neurological state are rising after he froze during his press conference
'One of life's most under appreciated talents is to know when it's time to move on to life's next chapter,' McConnell continued.
'So I stand before you today, to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.'
He said he is 'not going anywhere anytime soon' and will remain a U.S. senator, despite stepping down from leadership.
He is up for re-election in two years in 2026.
Last month, Sen. John Thune, 63, was elected to replace McConnell and usher in Donald Trump's ambitious agenda with a new GOP majority.
