Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suddenly froze as he was speaking during a weekly Republican leadership news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
McConnell was speaking about an annual defense policy bill when he stopped talking for about 19 seconds. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a top McConnell deputy who previously worked as a physician, then escorted McConnell away from the cameras and reporters.
A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the news conference. Asked about his health, he said he was fine. Asked whether he is fully able to do his job, McConnell replied, "Yeah."
Asked about the episode, a McConnell aide pointed out that he said, “I’m fine,” but the aide added that McConnell “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment.”
"He came back to handle Q&A, which as everyone observed was sharp," the aide said, according to NBC News.
McConnell, 81, tripped and fell in March after an event for the Senate Leadership Fund at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. He was hospitalized with a concussion and a minor rib fracture and was discharged five days later before entering rehab.
McConnell did not return to the Senate until mid-April.