Many are concerned about Mitch McConnell, 83, after he fell in the Capital hallway on October 16, but this is not the first time that the Republican senator has tripped in the last six years. While his most pressing fall occurred in March 2023, which resulted in a concussion and several weeks away from work, questions about McConnell’s health began to stir in 2019 when he took a tumble at his home in Kentucky. The former Senate Republican leader, who stepped down from the position earlier in 2025, intends to finish out his term through to January 2027 despite multiple falls that have become more frequent since late 2024. McConnell has frequently shared that he had polio as a child, which has impaired his ability to walk.
Mitch McConnell’s health in question after numerous falls
McConnell has reportedly suffered at least seven falls since 2019, with the majority of the incidents occurring from 2023 to 2025.
August 4, 2019 fall at home
At his Kentucky home, McConnell “tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder,” according to a statement from spokesman David Popp (per NBC News). The then 77-yerar-old senator was “treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville,” the statement continued.
At the time, McConnell called the Republican senators of Texas and Ohio, which had been impacted by two mass shootings over the weekend. Popp said that McConnell would “continue to work from home” until further notice with the Senate resuming sessions that year in September.
February 2023 fall in Helsinki, Finland
Based on three separate sources in a CNN report, McConnell tripped and fell while walking toward his meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. The GOP leader had gotten out of his car during a snowy day and stumbled on an icy path. GOP Senator Ted Budd said that “it was also very ice to the top” and was “concerned” for McConnell’s health after the incident.
March 9, 2023 fall at hotel in Washington, D.C.
During a dinner event held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., McConnell tripped and fell, suffering a concussion that led the senator to be hospitalized for almost a week. The dinner was held by the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC group established for Republicans.
McConnell suffered a fractured rib and was hospitalized for five days, undergoing physical therapy during the road to recovery. The senator missed almost six weeks of work before he was able to return to the Senate.
July 2023 fall at Reagan National Airport
The same CNN report on McConnell’s fall in Helsinki details a separate fall the senator took as he got off the plane at Washington’s Reagan National Airport. At the time, McConnell’s office declined to comment on the incident, though he did return to the Capitol later on the same day.
December 10, 2024 fall at GOP luncheon
While walking out of a GOP luncheon, the senator tripped and fell again at the weekly party lunch alongside Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. McConnell was able to get back up on his own power and walk back to his office, where medical personnel later checked on him.
The fall resulted in a cut on his face and a sprained wrist. This incident came after the longtime Republican senator, then 82, experienced several freezing episodes on stage and after announcing that he would not seek re-election after his term.
February 5, 2025 fall at the Capitol
Per NBC News, reporters witnessed McConnell falling down a small flight of stairs as he was leaving the Senate chamber on route to a Republican caucus lunch. The fall resulted in him using a wheelchair “purely as a precautionary measure.”
Senator Steve Daines said that he assisted him after he fell. “I think he just slipped on the steps. I was right behind him and helped him get back up, and he walked on his own power to lunch.” While McConnell left the lunch on foot with the assistance of an aide, he returned to the lunchroom in a wheelchair.
October 16, 2025 fall in Capitol hallway
The latest fall McConnell experienced was at the Capitol building as he was approached by two volunteers from the Sunrise Movement, an environmental advocacy group.
The pair asked the senator about ICE to which he did not respond but then fell onto the stone pathway. With the assistance of his detail, he stood back up and continued walking without addressing the volunteers. His spokesperson, Stephanie Penn, said that he was “all good,” per WKYT.
