During a weekly Republican leadership news conference on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze and then went silent for 19 seconds, causing colleagues to express concern for his well-being.
The 81-year-old senator had been discussing an annual defense policy bill when the incident occurred. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa made a hand gesture that initially seemed like the sign of the cross, later clarified to be a signal for Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota.
McConnell was swiftly escorted away from the cameras and reporters by Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a physician. After a brief absence, McConnell returned to the news conference on his own, assuring reporters that he was fine. However, an aide later mentioned that he felt lightheaded and needed a moment to recover.
Despite the concerning episode, McConnell seemed sharp and handled questions adeptly during the Q&A session. He spoke briefly with reporters later that evening as he left the Capitol, revealing that President Joe Biden had called to check on his well-being, to which McConnell jokingly responded that he got “sandbagged.”
This isn’t the first time McConnell has faced health issues; he tripped and fell on March 8, which led to a hospitalization for a concussion and minor rib fracture. The Senate Minority Leader returned to his duties in mid-April after recovering.
For now, McConnell is insisting that he is in good health and capable of performing his duties, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also stated that there were no concerns about his health during their meeting. Still, the incident has drawn attention to the senator’s well-being as he continues his tenure, with the next Senate re-election not slated until the 2026 midterm elections.
Term limits
Wednesday’s unusual episode has naturally sparked discussion about whether time and age limits ought to be enforced on US politicians.
One Twitter user wrote: “Today’s lesson on why we need term & age limits in government comes courtesy of Mitch McConnell. We have age limits on young people voting and running for office.”
Meanwhile Suge Knight posted: “These ppl are literally in their last days and acting like we weird for yelling TERM LIMITS. This is actually ridiculous.”
The United States does not have term limits for members of Congress, including Senators and Representatives. The decision not to impose term limits was made intentionally by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
The absence of term limits was a deliberate design choice to strike a balance between having experienced legislators who could develop expertise and institutional knowledge over time, and preventing an entrenched political class that could become disconnected from the interests of the people. The framers sought to create a system of government that was accountable to the people through regular elections, allowing voters to decide whether to retain or replace their representatives based on their performance.
To implement term limits, a constitutional amendment would be required. Such a move would be a controversial and lengthy process given the complex nature of constitutional changes.
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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