WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and former longtime Senate leader, was admitted to a hospital on Sunday, according to his spokesperson. No further details were immediately released about the reason for his hospitalization or his condition.
“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” spokesperson David Popp said in a brief statement. It was not immediately known whether McConnell was hospitalized in Washington, Kentucky or another location.
McConnell, 84, served longer as Senate leader than anyone in U.S. history before stepping down from that post while completing what is expected to be his final term in office, which ends in January.
Questions about McConnell’s health have drawn attention in recent years as he has experienced a series of medical incidents and falls.
In December 2024, McConnell sprained his wrist after falling while leaving a GOP lunch. Earlier, in March 2023, he was hospitalized for a concussion after a fall at a Washington hotel, forcing him to step away from Senate duties for several weeks. After returning to work, he twice appeared to freeze during summer news conferences, staring ahead silently until aides and fellow lawmakers stepped in to help.
McConnell contracted polio as a young child and has said for years that he still deals with some difficulty walking and climbing stairs. Before the 2023 incident, he also fell at his Kentucky home in 2019 and later underwent surgery for a fractured shoulder.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period.
He remains active in the Senate, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, and recent chairing public hearings and grilling officials from his perch as the chairman for the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense. He has intermittently used a wheelchair to navigate the Capitol and routinely has his security detail, as a former congressional leader, at his side.
