Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was captured on camera Thursday taking a hard fall in the hallway of a Senate office building.
The 83-year-old lawmaker, who was heading to the Capitol for votes, appeared to reach for an aide’s arm moments before losing his balance and falling.
McConnell, who announced earlier this year that he will not seek reelection in 2026, was promptly assisted to his feet by the aide and a Capitol Police officer.
The aging Republican then waved at bystanders before shuffling away. “He’s all good,” McConnell’s spokesperson told the New York Post. “[He] went on to vote and [is] ready to vote again … to see if Dems decide to fund our nation’s defense priorities or not.”
The fall was recorded by the left-wing activist group Sunrise Movement.
McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, has experienced multiple falls and health incidents in recent years, including several moments in which he appeared to freeze during public appearances.
Earlier this year, he briefly used a wheelchair after a series of falls in February. “Senator McConnell is fine,” his spokesperson claimed at the time. “The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work.”
The seven-term senator previously sustained a sprained wrist and facial cuts after a fall during a Capitol luncheon last December. A more serious incident in early 2023 left McConnell briefly hospitalized with a concussion and a fractured rib following another fall.
President Donald Trump is seeking to replace McConnell—who has frequently opposed the White House this year—with a loyal ally, but insiders say that concerns are rising within Trump’s inner circle over a front-runner’s repeated donations to lawmakers who voted to impeach the president.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) contributed seven times through his leadership PAC to support four House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for allegedly inciting the January 6 Capitol riot, despite Trump urging his supporters to primary them out of office.
Barr, 51, criticized Trump as “irresponsible” and “not blameless,” yet personally voted against impeaching the 45th president.
The congressman is now engaged in a three-way race for McConnell’s Senate seat, held by the longtime senator since 1985, against former state attorney general Daniel Cameron, 39, and waste management entrepreneur Nate Morris, 44.
About a month after leaving the White House in 2021, the former and future president publicly read aloud the names of the 10 House Republicans who had joined Democrats in voting to impeach him over his claims that the 2020 election was stolen, urging his supporters to “get rid of them all.”
In February 2021, Barr donated $2,500 to then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who seven months later called Trump “a cancer” and announced he would not seek re-election. Barr also continued to support three other Republicans who, alongside then-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), voted to impeach Trump.
Through his PAC, Barr contributed $2,000 to then-Rep. John Katko (R-NY) on June 15, 2021; $10,000 to Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) in four installments between June 2021 and August 2022; and $3,000 to then-Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) in July 2022, the outlet continued, adding that of the four, only Valadao remains in the House.
“Andy Barr didn’t just blame President Trump for the violence on [Jan. 6, 2021], he actively funded the Republicans who voted to impeach him — after the president had already made clear that he was going to target them in primaries,” said a longtime Trump adviser. “I can’t imagine a bigger slap in the face to the president than that.”
“Everyone in Trump’s circle views Barr as just another one of McConnell’s mentees, meaning you know he’s not going to be there for Trump when things get tough and it really matters,” another source close to the White House told the Washington Examiner.
