Mitch McConnell found unconscious after ‘heart attack’ last month: reports

Outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell was found unconscious after apparently suffering a heart attack in his Washington, D.C., home last month, according to reports Wednesday.

The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican received CPR for “cardiac arrest” during the June 14 incident, the New York Post said, citing a Fire and EMS Department dispatch call.

An ambulance crew trained in advanced life support was sent to McConnell’s home, according to the call, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, the Post said.

A McConnell spokesperson didn’t address the reports in response to an inquiry from The Independent but reiterated a statement released last week.

It said that McConnell, who’s suffered a series of health scares in recent years, was “still working closely with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters as he continues his recovery.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said that McConnell “sounded good” and “wants to be back” when they spoke the day after McConnell was hospitalized.

“He is clearly dialed in to what’s going on. He’s following along with stuff we are doing this week up here. Very much so,” Thune said June 15, ABC News reported at the time.

The Senate has been out of session for Independence Day since Friday and isn’t scheduled to resume business until July 13.

McConnell, who led the Senate for a record 18 years and nicknamed himself the Grim Reaper for killing legislation passed by House Democrats, was also hospitalized in February with “flu-like symptoms.”

His other medical issues include a March 2023 fall that left him with a concussion and broken rib, followed by two incidents during which he froze up and stared blankly while speaking to reporters later that year.

McConnell, who’s walked with a limp since surviving polio as a child, also fell in December 2024 and again in October, when he tripped in a Capitol hallway after being approached by an activist who asked him about Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics.

The seven-term senator is set to retire in January, with Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Democratic former state Rep. Charles Booker vying to replace him.