Senator Mitch McConnell fell down a marble staircase on Wednesday (February 5) after voting for Scott Turner as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The 82-year-old was helped up by Senators Steve Daines of Montana and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

A short time later, McConnell fell for a second time during the Republican conference lunch. According to USA Today, he was carrying a tray of food when he fell. He was later seen leaving the building in a wheelchair.

McConnell's spokeswoman, Stephanie Penn, said that he is fine and blamed the falls on the "lingering effects of polio in his left leg."

"Senator McConnell is fine," she said in a statement. "The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work.”

The falls are the latest in a series of health-related incidents for McConnell over the past few years. In December 2024, he fell during a Senate lunch, resulting in a sprained wrist and a cut on his face. In March 2023, McConnell was hospitalized after suffering a concussion and a fractured rib from a fall at a Washington, D.C., hotel.

He also had several incidents in which he froze up while speaking. In 2023, he froze up and had to be escorted from the podium while speaking during a press conference in the Senate. A few weeks later, he was taking questions from reporters at an event in Covington, Kentucky, when he froze up again.

The incidents raised concerns about McConnell's health and ability to continue serving in the Senate. McConnell, a survivor of childhood polio, announced last February that he would step down as Senate Majority Leader. He was replaced by Senator John Thune.

Mark Simone