Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), has been hospitalized after a fall at a hotel in Washington, his spokesperson confirmed on March 8.
The 81-year-old Senator was attending a private dinner at a local hotel when he tripped, spokesman David Popp said in a statement.
“This evening, Leader McConnell tripped at a local hotel during a private dinner. He has been admitted to the hospital where he is receiving treatment,” Popp said, without providing further details.
McConnell, the Senate’s longest-serving GOP leader, had been at an event at the Waldorf Astoria when he fell, according to Punchbowl News.
The Republican lawmaker was previously hospitalized in 2019 for another fall, this time at his home in Kentucky, which resulted in him fracturing his shoulder.
At the time, a spokesperson for the senator said he had tripped on the outdoor patio at his residence in Louisville and received medical treatment.
McConnell is a survivor of polio from his childhood, having been diagnosed with the disease before a vaccine was developed.
Battle With Polio
While the majority of individuals with polio do not display any visible symptoms, a small portion of those diagnosed develop serious symptoms that impact the brain and spinal cord, including meningitis and paralysis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 2018, McConnell told a conference on polio eradication at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that doctors had warned his mother that he shouldn’t walk after his diagnosis.
His symptoms included paralysis in part of his left leg and, at the time time, he periodically visited a polio rehabilitation institute for treatment.
“So my mother, like a drill sergeant, literally watched me every waking moment for two years,” McConnell said. “After two years, my first memory in life was our last visit to Warm Springs, where the nurse told my mother, ‘I think he’s going to be OK.’”
He noted that his experience motivated him to help support vaccine efforts and the tracking of polio in the remaining cases throughout the world.
“I think it’s under-appreciated outside the public health community just how much hard work and innovation has to continue after a disease has dropped off the front pages,” McConnell said, adding that without continued support, “progress could erode rapidly.”
McConnell was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and served as the Senate majority leader from 2015 to 2021, and the Senate minority leader since then.
Before his election to the Senate, he served as judge-executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky, from 1978.
More Lawmakers Hospitalized
McConnell’s hospitalization comes shortly after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest member of the Senate, was hospitalized after contracting shingles.
“I was diagnosed over the February recess with a case of the shingles,” Feinstein’s office said in a statement on March 2. “I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery. I hope to return to the Senate later this month.”
The Democrat has since been released from hospital, although it is unclear when she will return to Washington.
Elsewhere, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), 53, who suffered a stroke during his campaign trail last year, remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he has been receiving treatment for clinical depression since last month.
His office said late last month that he is “doing well, working with the wonderful doctors, and remains on a path to recovery.”
The absences of the Democratic lawmakers have made things difficult for Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is already navigating a very narrow 51-49 majority as opposed to the 50-50 split of the previous two years.
The Epoch Times has contacted McConnell’s office for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report. Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.
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Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
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Could this be a ruse????
To extend his life, Mitch first manages to get Fetterman hospitalized —– next Mitch enters the hospital with a faked excuse —– now Mitch and Fetterman are undergoing a brain transfer, first they open up Fetterman’s skull, which is empty (no surprise) then they take out Mitch’s brain and position it in Fetterman’s skull!
My prediction: with Mitch’s brain in Fetterman’s skull there is no noticeable difference in Fetterman!!!
Turns out that Chicom Mitch tripped on a raccoon dog and the WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove has confirmed this!