Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell fell to the floor Thursday in the Russell Senate Office Building basement as a reporter pressed him about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to video from the scene.
The clip, posted by journalist Erik Rosales, shows McConnell walking with an aide before losing his footing and going down; aides quickly help him up. The exchange erupted as a questioner asked about ICE, and the video does not show McConnell addressing the question before the fall. (RELATED: McConnell Freezes Up Again Mid-Speech During Press Conference)
“Do you support ICE taking working people off the streets and kidnapping them?” the questioner is heard asking in the video, at which point McConnell falls.
He smiles sheepishly and at the camera and waves before walking off.
Sen. Mitch McConnell fell in the Russell basement, while being questioned my members of The Sunrise Movement, who took this video. pic.twitter.com/BeGNEE5SgP
— Erik Rosales (@ErikRosalesNews) October 16, 2025
It was not immediately clear if McConnell required medical attention Thursday. The 83-year-old Kentucky Republican has had several high-profile health incidents in recent years. He suffered a concussion in a March 2023 fall, and he experienced two on-camera freezing episodes that summer. In December 2024, McConnell sustained minor injuries in another Capitol fall but was later cleared to return to work, his office said at the time.
The latest spill occurred in a busy Senate corridor where reporters and activists often confront lawmakers between votes and meetings. The video was recorded in the Russell basement, a common press stakeout location under the Capitol complex.
McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, announced earlier this year he would relinquish his leadership post but remain in the chamber through the end of his term.