McConnell hospitalized after fall in DC

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was hospitalized Wednesday night after a fall in Washington, D.C.

The 81-year-old tripped while attending a private dinner, a spokesperson for the senator told The Hill, and has been admitted to a hospital “where he is receiving treatment.” 

CNN, citing an unidentified source, reports the fall occurred at D.C.’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. 

Further details about the extent of McConnell’s injury or his expected recovery time were not disclosed. 

The senator tripped and fell at his Kentucky home in 2019, sustaining a shoulder fracture for which he underwent surgery. Then-77 years old, McConnell worked from home for a few weeks during recovery. 

McConnell discussed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that he was treated for polio as a child, an illness that left him with difficulty navigating stairs even in adulthood. 

It’s not yet clear whether the Senate Republican leader’s injury will take him out of the upper chamber, which Democrats control with a slim 51-49 majority, during treatment and recovery. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was released this week from the hospital after missing a week of votes while out with shingles, and is now recovering at home. 

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who suffered a stroke on the campaign trail, was hospitalized last month after feeling lightheaded. Doctors ruled out another stroke, but he checked into the hospital again several days later to be treated for clinical depression.

--Updated at 7:38 a.m.