By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-03 22:51:43 | Updated at 2025-01-05 20:42:16
1 day ago
An 81-year-old Republican lawmaker took a bloody tumble down some marble stairs just outside of the House chamber Friday afternoon.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., accidentally fell down some stairs between the Capitol's second and third floor following the House of Representative's first meeting this year.
Multiple accounts revealed that Foxx's tumble caused her to begin bleeding.
She was seen bleeding from her head and her leg as staffers pressed tissues to her wounds to stop the flow of blood.
Soon after her fall, medical personnel rushed to her aid and began assisting her.
A statement released from her office following the incident reveals that the octogenarian lawmaker seems to be fine.
'Rep. Foxx slipped while walking down the marble staircase outside the House chamber after walking up to talk to her family in the gallery,' a statement from her office shared with DailyMail.com began.
'After being helped to her feet, and looked over by medical personnel, she proceeded on her own to the Attending Physician’s office to get treated for a few individual cuts. Everything seems to be okay.'
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., walks to the House floor for a vote in the Capitol on September 29, 2023. The 81-year-old slipped and injured herself in the Capitol Friday
The office of the congresswoman said that 'everything seems to be okay' with Foxx after the fall
The hard marble steps outside of the House floor near where Foxx was before falling
Foxx also joked about the incident on her X account: 'I’m a mountain woman, and we’re tougher than a $2 steak.'
'Thank you to everyone for your prayers – just a few small cuts and I’m doing just fine,' the statement said.
Though she joked about the incident, elderly lawmakers getting injured is no laughing matter as Foxx's health scare is just the latest to rock Washington.
Last month two other high-ranking 80-somethings were also involved in scary tumbles.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and ex-Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell - two of the most powerful people in Congress - both fell and injured themselves in December.
Pelosi, like Foxx, also recently slipped and fell on marble stairs.
The 84-year-old California Democrat took a nasty tumble during a European trip to Luxembourg with several other lawmakers just before Christmas. One lawmaker later blamed her iconic high-heels for playing a part in the incident.
Pelosi's fall down the stairs was so severe that she broke her hip.
Foxx, a former educator, has served in Congress for two decades
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky 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 weeks ago
The Republican received a bandage to treat a cut on his face under his left eye
Her spokesperson later released a statement that she had a successful hip replacement surgery and thanked the medical professionals in both Germany and Luxembourg.
She had just returned from Europe following her hip replacement to make it to Washington in time to vote Friday in the tenuous speaker election.
McConnell, meanwhile, fell over during a Senate lunch on December 11, the latest tumble in a string of health issues over the last few years including multiple falls.
Medical staff with a wheelchair were called in to assist after the senator fell during the lunch and sprained his wrist. He also cut his face and later wore a bandaid.
Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) noted former Speaker Pelosi was wearing 'very high' heels when she took a tumble last Friday in Europe. He said despite surgery, the 84-year-old is 'doing well'
The group of lawmakers met with the Grand Duke on Friday before Pelosi was rushed to the hospital. She is seen here gripping the hand of Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas
An aide was tasked with helping the 82-year-old Kentucky Republican to and from the Senate floor so the lawmaker could do his job.
McConnell has been involved in multiple falls and some bizarre freezing incidents in recent years.
After serving as the longest Republican Senate leader in history, the 82-year-old shockingly announced he would not seek reelection to a leadership position.
He had been the leader of the Republican Senate conference since 2007.
