Mitch McConnell has had 'multiple' recent falls - reports

Mitch McConnell has had at least three falls this year, US media report, as speculation grows over the health of the US Senate's most senior Republican.

Mr McConnell, 81, abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence during a news conference on Wednesday before concerned colleagues led him away.

The Senate Minority Leader later returned to the media session and told reporters he was fine.

In March, he suffered a concussion after falling at a Washington DC hotel.

Mr McConnell had just begun greeting the press at the weekly Republican leadership news conference before suddenly freezing and falling silent, staring straight ahead for about 20 seconds.

His Republican colleagues were heard asking him if he was OK.

"You OK, Mitch?" asked Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, an ex-orthopaedic surgeon. "Anything else you want to say or should I escort you back to your office?" he added.

Mr Barrasso then helped Mr McConnell step away from the conference.

Mr McConnell returned a short while later and answered "yeah" when asked if he was fully able to do his job.

When Mr McConnell said he was "fine", an aide of his added that the senator had "felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment".

"He came back to handle Q&A, which as everyone observed was sharp," the aide said.

On Thursday, Mr McConnell told reporters that President Joe Biden had called to check on him.

The senator said that he had joked "I got sandbagged", in reference to Mr Biden's tumble over a sandbag at an event in Colorado last month.

Mr McConnell contracted polio at the age of two, which led to partial paralysis in his left leg.

A rigorous physical therapy regime ensured he was able to walk without needing a brace, but he has long struggled to navigate stairs and other obstacles.

The Kentucky lawmaker, who has served in the Senate since 1985, has reportedly endured at least three falls this year.

In February, he tripped and fell on a snowy day in Helsinki, Finland while on his way to a meeting with the Finnish president, CNN reports.

Days later, in early March, he fell and hit his head while at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, suffering a concussion and minor rib fracture.

He was discharged from hospital later that month and did rehab, not returning to Congress for nearly six weeks.

Earlier this month, the Republican fell while getting off a plane at Washington's Reagan National Airport, according to NBC News.

A source told NBC that Mr McConnell has recently been using a wheelchair to navigate through crowded airports.

Mr McConnell's office has declined to comment on the incidents.

In 2021, Kentucky's Republican-controlled legislature passed a law - with his support - that requires the state's Democratic governor to pick a successor of the same party if Mr McConnell is incapacitated and must leave office before his current term ends.

Nevertheless, Mr McConnell has refused to entertain questions about his future, telling CNN last October that he is "certainly going to complete the term I was elected to by the people of Kentucky".