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Last Wednesday night, Mitch McConnell was rushed to a hospital after falling during a dinner party. The current Senate Minority Leader stumbled at a hotel and had to be hospitalized as a precaution.
His team quickly came out to clarify what happened in a statement. “This evening, Leader McConnell tripped at a local hotel during a private dinner,” said his spokesman, Doug Andres, in a letter released in the early hours of Thursday, March 9. He also clarified that he is “receiving treatment.”
Now 81, McConnell is a polio survivor and has had problems with balance. For example, in 2019 he suffered a broken shoulder after tripping in his Kentucky home.
“I think it’s under-appreciated outside the public health community just how much hard work and innovation has to continue after a disease has dropped off the front pages,” he recalled in a Roll Call report on the polio he suffered as a child. He also warned that, without continued support, “progress could erode quickly.”
McConnell first came to the Senate in 1985 and came to the leadership of the Republican Conference in 2007. Since then, he served two terms as minority leader, from 2007 to 2015 and from 2021 to the present. In addition, he served as majority leader during the final years of Barack Obama and the entire Donald Trump administration, from 2015 to 2021.
Up to 3 senators hospitalized in recent weeks
One ugly habit of this new Congress seems to be the hospitalization of senators. With the Minority Leader’s episode, the list rises to three, along with John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
The 89-year-old Californian was recently hospitalized for a case of shingles in San Francisco. After a brief stay in a medical center, she is now at home recovering.
“I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and the hospital staff for providing excellent care. I’m recovering at home now while I continue receiving treatment and look forward to returning to the Senate as soon as possible,” the senator wrote on her Twitter account.
Fetterman’s case is more worrisome. The senator had to be hospitalized last February 15 on the recommendation of the congressional doctor, after showing symptoms of depression. According to NBC News, he is expected to remain under observation for a few weeks.
The New York Times reported in February that the former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor is struggling with “serious mental health” issues and often has trouble understanding the words others say to him. These symptoms would be the after-effects of the stroke he suffered in 2022, which complicated his campaign activities.
The report also notes that the stroke left a “very real psychological toll” on him and that “had to come to terms with the fact that he may have set himself back permanently by not taking the recommended amount of rest during the campaign.”
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]