Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was admitted into the hospital after suffering “flu-like symptoms” over the weekend.
According to a statement provided to People by a representative for McConnell, 83, on Tuesday, February 3, the longest serving Senate party leader in U.S. history checked himself into a hospital one day prior.
“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.
The Kentucky Republican’s statement also noted that his prognosis is “positive” and he is receiving “excellent care.”
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It concluded, “He is in regular contact with his staff and looks forward to returning to Senate business.”
It is unclear how long McConnell is expected to remain in the hospital.
Us Weekly has reached out to a representative for McConnell for comment.
The politician has publicly shared his health issues over the years, while a recent fall that took place in the hallway of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was witnessed and filmed by reporters.
Shared by local Louisville, Kentucky, news outlet WHAS11, via its YouTube account on October 17, 2025, a video of the incident also captured McConnell walking while assisted by the arm of a colleague just prior to his fall.
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The tumble occurred while McConnell was being questioned over his perspective on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
His Capitol Building fall marked the third public fall of 2025, and the politician has publicly fallen twice in the building in total.
McConnell also suffered a public concussion after tripping and falling inside Washington’s Waldorf Astoria in 2023. His recovery involved reliance on a wheelchair, per reporting at the time by NBC News.
He has also demonstrated public freezing episodes over the years, several of which were captured by news outlets during press conferences. The results of the episodes have left McConnell completely non-responsive in the face of questioning.
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McConnell has held the seat of Kentucky since 1985 and is currently in his seventh Senate term. From 2007 to 2025, he also served as the leader of the Senate Republican Conference. He announced last year that he would not seek reelection in 2026.
In 2015, McConnell, who has been married to former government official Elaine Chao since 1993, was first listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. He was awarded the same honor in 2019 and 2023.
He is a polio survivor, having endured a polio attack in 1944 when he was two years old. His upper left leg was paralyzed as a result of the attack. Successful treatment from medical staff at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institution for Rehabilitation at the time, prevented McConnell from developing a permanent disability.
