U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell remains in hospital after fall, concussion

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was being treated Thursday for a concussion and is expected to remain in the hospital for "for a few days" after he tripped and fell at a hotel dinner the night before, his spokesperson said.

The Kentucky senator, 81, was at a dinner, after a reception for the Senate Leadership Fund, a campaign committee aligned with him, when he tripped and fell. The dinner was at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, formerly the Trump International Hotel.

Spokesperson David Popp said McConnell is "grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes."

McConnell's office did not provide additional details on his condition or how long he may be absent from the Senate.

Returning from a trip to Philadelphia Thursday evening, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that he'd spoken with McConnell's family.

"I think he's gonna be all right," Biden said of his former Senate colleague.

Concussions can be serious injuries and take time for recovery. Even a single incident of concussion can limit a person's abilities as they recover.

In 2019, the Republican leader tripped and fell at his home in Kentucky, suffering a shoulder fracture that required surgery. The Senate had just started a summer recess, and he worked from home for some weeks as he recovered.

First elected in 1984, McConnell in January became the longest-serving Senate leader when the new Congress convened, breaking the previous record of 16 years.

Survivor of childhood polio

The taciturn McConnell is often reluctant to discuss his private life.

But at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he opened up about his early childhood experience fighting polio. He described how his mother insisted that he stay off his feet as a toddler and worked with him through a determined physical therapy regime. He has acknowledged some difficulty in adulthood climbing stairs.

Senators leaving a Republican conference lunch on Thursday said that that McConnell's staff had given them an update during the meeting. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said they were told that "he's doing well, feels fine, but had a concussion."

Romney predicted that McConnell would stay in the hospital over the weekend and return to the Senate next week.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate's second-ranked Republican, told reporters earlier on Thursday that he had not spoken to McConnell. He said he was at the dinner and McConnell had delivered remarks "as usual."

"Evidently it happened later in the evening," said Thune, who had moved on to another reception underway at the hotel and did not see McConnell fall.

None of the senators had talked to McConnell, though several said they had reached out to wish him well.

"We just need to make sure that the leader does what he's told," said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday morning that he had called McConnell and spoken with his staff "to extend my prayers and well wishes."

The Senate, where the average age is 65, has been without several members recently due to illness.

Sen. John Fetterman, 53, who suffered a stroke during his campaign last year, was expected to remain out for some weeks as he received care for clinical depression. And Dianne Feinstein, 89, said last week that she had been hospitalized to be treated for shingles.

The absences of the two Democrats had already posed a challenge for Schumer, given the narrow 51-49 majority for the party in the Senate.

The Republicans, as the minority party, have had an easier time with intermittent absences.