Sen Mitch McConnell hospitalized, 'receiving excellent care,' his office says

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram had the latest on Kash Patel’s Senate confirmation vote. Mitch McConnell’s decision to not seek re-election in 2026 on ‘The Faulkner Focus.’

Sen.Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was hospitalized for an undisclosed health issue, according to his office.

"Sen. McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning," McConnell's Communications Director David Popp told Fox News. "He is receiving excellent care."

Two of McConnell's neighbors told Reuters they saw the senator on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance around 9 a.m. ET outside his Washington, D.C. home.

McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, was previouslyhospitalized for eight daysearlier this year after experiencing "flu-like symptoms."

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Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stands in the U.S. Capitol as the Senate votes on a government funding package on Jan. 29, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images)

The 84-year-old senator announced last February. hewould not seek reelectionand would retire when his current term ends in January 2027.

McConnell has dealt with aseries of health episodesin recent years.

He fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon in December 2024. He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023. missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues. staff came to his assistance.

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McConnell had polio in his early childhood,. he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult walking and climbing stairs. In addition to his 2023 fall, he also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky. He had surgery for a fractured shoulder.

McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984. was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period.

He remains active in the Senate, showing up for work when the chamber is in session,. recently chairing public hearings and grilling officials from his perch as the chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense. He has intermittently used a wheelchair to navigate the Capitol. routinely has his security detail, as a former congressional leader, at his side.

Only Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at 92 and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 84, are older than McConnell in Congress.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.