US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell bizarrely froze for almost 30 seconds while addressing reporters at a press conference before claiming he was “fine”.
Reporters and other US officials were left perplexed when the 81-year-old Kentucky lawmaker stopped mid-sentence and stared straight ahead of him before a colleague leaned in to ask if he was well.
The top Republican was meant to be giving an update about a significant defence funding bill when the blunder happened.
“Good afternoon everyone. We’re on a path to finishing the NDA this week. There has been good bipartisan operation and a string of, uh....” Mr McConnell managed to say before trailing off.
Senator John Barrasso whispered in his ear: “You okay Mitch? Anything else you want to say or should we go back to your office?”, before Mr McConnell was whisked away.
The longest-serving Senate party leader in history rejoined the press conference around 12 minutes later and began answering reporters’ questions.
Mr McConnell suffered a concussion after tripping at a Washington dinner on March 8 and was admitted to hospital. He also suffered a minor rib fracture and was moved to a rehabilitation centre before he returned to the Senate in April.
When Mr McConnell was asked if the incident was related to his injury earlier this year, he replied: “I’m fine.” Asked if he is still able to do his job, he said, “Yeah.”
When asked if he had anybody in mind to replace him as conference leader, Mr McConnell said “no” and laughed along with his collegues before leaving.
A McConnell aide said that the senator had felt light-headed.
Mr Barrasso said that he had been concerned about McConnell since his fall.
“I’ve been concerned since he was injured a number of months ago,” said Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican. “I continue to be concerned.”
Later on Wednesday Mr McConnell told reporters that President Joe Biden had called to check he was okay.
“The president called to check up on me, and I told him I got sandbagged,” Mr McConnell joked, referencing a quote from Mr Biden in June after he tripped over a sandbag and fell while onstage at the US Air Force Academy graduation.
Many top figures in Washington are of advanced age, with President Biden running for re-election at 80. The average age in the Senate is above 64.
