Mitch McConnell collapses inside Senate

Mitch McConnell has fallen over inside a Senate office building, the latest in a long series of health scares for the octogenarian senator.

The 83-year-old  was being asked a question by a reporter when he lost his footing inside the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building on Thursday.

McConnell was helped to his feet by an aide and a Capitol Police officer. He was able to wave briefly at the camera and then continued walking without any assistance.

The Kentucky Republican has suffered several falls in public since 2019, the latest occurring in February when he collapsed twice in one day at the Capitol.

In December 2024, he fell over during a Senate lunch, suffering a cut to his face and a sprained wrist.

He fell several times in 2023, including one that resulted in a concussion and a broken rib.

The falls have been attributed to the 'lingering effects of polio in his left leg' after he suffered from the disease as a child. 

McConnell has also suffered at least two 'freezing' episodes in public during which he abruptly paused mid-sentence for about 30 seconds. 

Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress, said in September 2023 that the episodes were not evidence of a stroke or a seizure, but referred to the effects of the concussion McConnell had suffered after a fall in March 2023.

The Daily Mail contacted McConnell's office for comment.

The scares have fueled quiet concern and intense speculation about McConnell’s ability to remain in Congress.

He has become visibly slower in his speech and stride, and he had lost weight.

First elected in 1984, he is Kentucky's longest serving senator.

In February, he announced that he will not seek re-election in the 2026 midterms. 

The questions about McConnell's health raise broader concerns over elderly politicians, not least President Joe Biden, who appeared to be senile during the latter half of his term.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein used a wheelchair during her final months in office before her death in 2023 at age 90.

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The oldest current politician in the Senate is Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is 92 years old. Bernie Sanders, 84, is the second-oldest, followed by McConnell. 

The average age of senator is around 64 years old. In 1981, the average age was just 53 years old.

In the run-up to the 2024 Republican primary, candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched her campaign by calling for competency tests for politicians older than 75.

'In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. We'll have term limits for Congress,' she said at the time.

'And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.'

President Trump, 79, will be the oldest ever sitting president at the conclusion of his current term in 2028. 

He has faced questions over his health in recent months, with photos showing a bruised right hand and swelling in his ankles.

In July, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, calling it a 'common condition' in individuals over the age of 70 and no reason for alarm.

He was set last week to undergo a routine annual check-up at Walter Reed Medical, marking his second of the year.