Mitch McConnell

Topline

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was hospitalized last month after he was found unconscious at his Washington, D.C., home, according to multiple reports, marking the latest health scare for the 84-year-old senator.

Key Facts

McConnell Has Been Hospitalized Twice This Year

The senator is four-and-a-half months removed from his last hospitalization, which occurred after he dealt with flu-like symptoms. McConnell checked himself into the hospital to be treated for the symptoms and was given a “positive” prognosis. He was hospitalized for a week and returned to the Senate not long after.

Big Number

42 years. That is how long McConnell will have served in the Senate when his term ends in January.

Tangent

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and former Rep. Charles Booker, D-Ky., are facing off in the midterms to replace McConnell. Barr is heavily favored in the race.

Key Background

McConnell the Senate’s Republican leader from 2007 to 2025, has experienced several notable health events in the last few years. He suffered a concussion and a fractured rib from a fall in 2023 and took another fall in 2024 that resulted in leg stiffness and an absence from Congress. The senator’s office has attributed his occasional use of a wheelchair after some of his injuries to lingering effects of polio he dealt with as a child. The senator also experienced two incidents where he froze while publicly speaking to reporters. Neurologists who reviewed video of the event disputed McConnell and his team’s claims that he simply felt lightheaded during the episodes, saying he likely experienced mini seizures. McConnell’s 18 years as the Senate’s top Republican marked the longest stretch for a party leader in the chamber’s history.

Further Reading

Neurologists Suggest McConnell Suffered Seizures—Disputing ‘Lightheadedness’ Claims—Report Says (Forbes)mit