KENTUCKY, USA — Health concerns continue to swirl around Senator Mitch McConnell after he stopped mid-sentence and appeared to stare off into space for several seconds at a Wednesday press conference in Washington D.C.
When he later returned to the podium, McConnell said he was "fine" and still able to do his job.
The senator even made light of the frightening situation by saying he was "sandbagged" -- a reference to President Joe Biden's recent fall over a sandbag at a graduation ceremony.
McConnell, 81, was out of office for nearly six weeks earlier this year after falling and hitting his head. The accident left him with a concussion and a fractured rib.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a former orthopedic surgeon, helped walk McConnell back to his office, saying he has been concerned about the Senate Minority Leader's health since that accident, "and I continued to be concerned."
An aide who also helped McConnell get back to his office on Wednesday told The Associated Press that McConnell felt lightheaded and needed to step away for a moment.
The Republican leader is one of several senators who have been absent due to health issues this year. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, 90, was out of the Senate for more than two months after suffering from a bout of shingles. And Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., 53, took a weekslong leave to get treatment for clinical depression.
What would happen if McConnell retired?
First elected to the Senate in 1984, McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in history in January.
If health concerns ever caused McConnell to step down, there is now a new plan in place to find his replacement.
In 2021, the GOP-dominated Kentucky Legislature passed a bill that would ensure whoever replaces McConnell would be Republican.
Before the state's governor would appoint someone to fill the role and then there could be a special election. But now, the appointee shall come from a list of three names chosen by the state's executive committee.
Beshear would then have to choose McConnell's replacement from those three nominees.
The bill requires the nominees must come from the same political party as the person they are replacing.
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