Mitch McConnell freezes for second time at press conference

The 81-year-old minority leader in the US Senate was answering reporters’ questions when he fell silent for around 30 seconds, in the second such occurrence this year | WATCH

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze and fell silent during an appearance before the press on Wednesday, the second such incident in recent months, prompting new concerns about whether the Kentucky Republican can continue to lead his party in the wake of a fall earlier this year.

The latest incident occurred as Senator McConnell, 81, was taking questions from reporters in his home state. When he was asked if he planned to run for re-election in 2026, he stood motionless for about 30 seconds.

McConnell’s office said the senator paused because he felt momentarily light-headed. An aide said that McConnell “feels fine” and “as a prudential measure, the Leader will be consulting a physician.” McConnell made a round of calls to Senate allies following the incident, and his office didn’t release any other details on his condition.

Earlier this year, McConnell fell at a Washington hotel and suffered a concussion and broke a rib. When he returned to work, he resumed his regular schedule, but concerns intensified on July 26 after he froze for about 20 seconds while delivering remarks at a press conference. At the time, McConnell said he was fine.

A decline in McConnell’s health could have implications for Republicans in the Senate as well as the functioning of the chamber, particularly in times of heightened partisanship in Congress. McConnell is the longest serving Senate leader in history, having driven the GOP’s legislative and political strategy for more than 16 years.

McConnell has been central to passing Republican priorities such as the GOP tax overhaul in 2017 and confirming conservative justices to the Supreme Court. He also has worked with Democrats on knotty issues such as raising the nation’s borrowing limit, as well as funding the government, and supported President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package.

Biden, who served in the Senate for decades, expressed concern for McConnell on Wednesday. “We have disagreements politically but he’s a good friend,” he said.

If McConnell were to step aside as party leader, there are several potential successors: Sens. John Thune (R., S.D.), currently the Senate Republican whip; John Cornyn (R., Texas), the former Senate Republican whip; and John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), the chairman of the Senate Republican conference.

A spokesman for Thune said Thune and McConnell spoke Wednesday afternoon, “and the leader sounded like his usual self and was in good spirits.” Congress is on August recess, and most senators won’t return to Washington until after Labour Day. The initial freezing incident in July startled fellow lawmakers and brought into the open lingering concerns regarding McConnell’s health. At the time, Republican senators quickly rallied around him, saying they continued to have confidence in his ability to do the job.

In the past year, McConnell has focused on protecting continued U.S. aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia, working to tamp down scepticism within his party about the cost to U.S. taxpayers and arguments that the money would be better spent on domestic priorities, such as border security.

He is also a leading GOP critic of former President Donald Trump, who remains popular with many Republican voters and is the frontrunner to win the party’s presidential nomination in 2024. While McConnell wasn’t among the handful of Republicans to vote to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he said he thought Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.” Trump was acquitted after the Senate fell short of the two-thirds required to convict.

McConnell had polio as a child that left him with an uneven gait, and he moves gingerly. He now uses a wheelchair when at the airport.

Neurologists who reviewed footage of McConnell’s two freezing episodes said they couldn’t diagnose McConnell without examining him, but they said they would want to rule out stroke or a stroke-like attack if he was in their care. The neurologists said they would also want to investigate whether he could have suffered focal seizures, also known as partial seizures and which begin in one area of the brain. People experiencing a focal seizure don’t lose consciousness but may stare blankly into space, lose the ability to speak or make involuntary movements, among other symptoms.

Head injuries including concussions can increase the risk of seizures and having more than one seizure increases the likelihood that someone could have another, said Dr. Anthony Kim, medical director of the University of California, San Francisco Comprehensive Stroke Center.

“A neurologist clearly needs to evaluate him,” said Dr. Kevin Crutchfield, a vascular neurologist at Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey, of McConnell. Seizures can be controlled with medications and stroke risk can be managed with drugs and lifestyle changes, Crutchfield said.

McConnell’s office previously has said that he intends to serve out both his Senate term, which ends in early 2027, and his current two-year term as Senate Republican leader, a position to which he was re-elected at the start of the current Congress after fending off a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.).

The Wall Street Journal