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McConnell hospitalized with concussion after a fall

Spokesman: Senate GOP leader, 81, to remain in hospital ‘for a few days’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., conducts a news conference after the Senate luncheons in the Capitol on Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., conducts a news conference after the Senate luncheons in the Capitol on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is being treated for a concussion at a hospital after he tripped at a dinner event Wednesday evening, according to a statement from his spokesman.

“He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment,” David Popp, McConnell’s communications director, said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “The Leader is grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes.”

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican, told reporters that he expects “a full recovery” and that McConnell is awake and talking to people. 

McConnell, 81, fractured his shoulder in 2019 during a fall at his home in Kentucky. As a child, he overcame polio. 

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was recently hospitalized for shingles and said Tuesday she is now recovering at home. Her Democratic colleague Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is receiving inpatient treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed Medical Center. 

Some senators sent well wishes to McConnell over Twitter, including John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., who challenged McConnell for the role of Republican leader last year. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday he called McConnell on Thursday morning and spoke briefly with his staff.

“This morning I offer a prayer of strength and healing for the leader and his family,” Schumer said. “I join every single one of my colleagues in wishing Leader McConnell a speedy and full recovery.”

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