A day after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to be paralyzed at a public event, Brian Monahan, the doctor who treats congressmen at the U.S. Capitol, said he told McConnell he "is medically fit" to continue working.
Monahan said in a statement that he had met with the neurology team treating McConnell and determined that the senator is "medically fit to continue with his schedule as planned."
McConnell became paralyzed during a deposition. When he returned, he avoided questions about the incident.
July 26, 202300:33
"Occasional dizziness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration," the doctor said.
This is the first time his office has acknowledged that the dizziness McConnell has been dealing with could be attributed to the lingering effects of the fall and concussion he suffered in March.
[Mitch McConnell is released from the hospital where he was treated for the blow to the head he suffered after falling]
After the fall at the Washington hotel, the senator suffered other health episodes. NBC News reported that on July 14, McConnell, a polio survivor who has had difficulty climbing stairs and overcoming other obstacles, fell while getting off a plane at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington. However, he was not seriously injured.
But that same month, McConnell stunned reporters, Senate colleagues and aides when he paralyzed himself at his weekly news conference for nearly 20 seconds before television cameras.
The same thing happened again Wednesday at a rally in Covington, Kentucky, where McConnell was unable to speak for about 30 seconds after a reporter asked him if he planned to run for re-election as leader of his caucus in 2026.
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A spokesman explained the long pause by saying McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader, had "momentarily felt dizzy."
During an event at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Joe Biden said Thursday that he had just spoken with McConnell, his former Senate colleague whom he called a "friend."
[McConnell fell at a Washington, D.C., airport this month before freezing at a news conference]
"He was the same old guy on the phone," said Biden, who survived two brain aneurysms in 1988. "And understanding a little bit of what neurosurgeons and people are saying ... it's not uncommon what sometimes happens to Mitch when you've had a serious concussion."
"It's part of the recovery. And that's why I'm confident it's going to be the same as it was before," Biden said.
Republican criticism
After the incident, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said McConnell, who is the Senate minority leader, is "unfit for office."
Mitch McConnell was admitted after a fall in which he suffered a concussion
March 10, 202300:11
"The serious health problems of aging and/or mental incompetence of our nation's leaders MUST be addressed," he wrote Wednesday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
"Biden, McConnell, Feinstein and Fetterman are examples of people who are unfit for office and it's about time we took that seriously," Greene added, referring to the health problems of Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
[The moment Mitch McConnell freezes in the middle of a Senate press conference]
Biden's verbal stumbles have raised concerns especially among conservatives, who have questioned his cognitive ability.
Greene also suggested the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, which focuses on presidential succession and incapacity.
"The staff and family members of these politicians should be ashamed of themselves by allowing and enabling their loved ones to remain in office just to hold power. We are talking about the national security of our country and everything is at stake! The 25th Amendment and other measures must be on the table," he wrote.
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McConnell's latest incident has also raised concerns from some Democrats.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and a member of the Democratic team who is thinking about a possible primary challenge against Biden in 2024, also called for term limits after McConnell's most recent incident.
"For God's sake, the family, friends, and staff of Senators Feinstein and McConnell are doing them a disservice, and our country," Phillips wrote in a post on X. "It's time to put term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, and have some basic human decency."
With information from NBCNews