The former Senate Republican leader was hospitalized on Sunday morning, June 14, a spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE
Credit: Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Mitch McConnell was hospitalized on Sunday, June 14
- The senator’s hospitalization comes four months after a previous stay for “flu-like symptoms”
- McConnell has faced health issues, including falls and freezing episodes, publicly for years
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized again.
The 84-year-old politician was admitted to a hospital on Sunday morning, June 14, McConnell spokesperson Stephanie Penn said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
"Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” Penn said. She did not elaborate on what McConnell has been hospitalized for.
Journalist Anthony Adragna was the first to break the news on X.
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty
McConnell's latest hospitalization comes nearly four months after the Kentucky Republican was discharged from his last hospital stay, during which he spent more than a week under observation for "flu-like symptoms."
The former Senate Republican leader was quietly discharged from the hospital on Feb. 10. The following day, a spokesperson for McConnell officially announced that he was back home and shared the first update on his health since his hospitalization earlier that month. They did not, however, elaborate on his diagnosis.
"He is feeling better and will be working from home this week on the advice of doctors," the spokesperson said at the time in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
McConnell, who has experienced a series of public health challenges, was hospitalized on the evening of Feb. 2 after his “flu-like symptoms” first arose the previous weekend, according to an initial statement from his office.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“In an abundance of caution, after experiencing flu-like symptoms over the weekend, Senator McConnell checked himself into a local hospital for evaluation last night," the statement read. At the time, McConnell's office also said that the politician's prognosis was "positive," and that he is "grateful for the excellent care he is receiving."
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
McConnell has sparked health concerns in recent years. He has a well-documented history of public falls and freezing episodes, including an October 2025 fall in which he tripped while being questioned by an activist about his feelings on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Concerns for the Kentucky senator's health can be traced back to 2019, when he fractured his shoulder after falling at his Louisville home. In the years since, he has suffered multiple injuries — including a concussion, cuts on his face and a rib fracture — from other falls, according to reports from NPR, CNN and the BBC.
McConnell's health was also called into question when he froze during two press conferences in 2023. The U.S. Capitol physician cleared him, but he subsequently stepped down from his long-held position as head of the Senate Republican Conference the following year.
McConnell's 2024 decision to resign from his former post as head of the Senate Republican Conference — a position he had held since 2007 — also came amid opposition from Donald Trump-supporting members of the GOP.
Read the full article here
