Mitch McConnell says he’s fine after freezing during news conference

Mitch McConnell Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) reaches out to help Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) after McConnell froze and stopped talking at the microphones during a news conference after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans U.S. Capitol 26, 2023 in Washington, DC. Also pictured, L-R, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). McConnell was escorted back to his office and later returned to the news conference and answered questions. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze for several seconds Wednesday while addressing reporters for a news briefing.

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Video of the incident showed McConnell greeting those gathered before trailing off while talking. He stood at the podium without saying more for over 30 seconds before he was ushered away.

He later returned to the podium.

“I’m fine,” McConnell told reporters after the incident. When asked whether he could fully do his job he answered, “Yeah.”

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An aide for the Kentucky Republican told CNN that McConnell, 81, “felt light headed and stepped away for a moment.”

“He came back to handle Q and A, which as everyone observed was sharp,” the unidentified aide said.

In March, McConnell suffered a concussion and a rib fracture when he tripped and fell at a hotel in Washington, D.C. He underwent physical therapy for weeks before returning to work in the Senate in mid-April, Bloomberg News reported.