Dianne Feinstein weighs in on Mitch McConnell's health scare: 'I didn't know that. I didn't see that'

• Dianne Feinstein weighed in on Mitch McConnell's freeze-up in front of reporters this week.
• Asked about it the day after it happened, she said she wasn't aware of the incident.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is wishing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell well after he froze for several seconds in front of reporters on Wednesday, igniting fresh questions about his health.

The 90-year-old California Democrat — whose own cognitive decline and health issues have been the subject of scrutiny, particularly in the months since she came down with a shingles infection — was asked by a Los Angeles Times reporter on Thursday about McConnell's health scare.

"No? Healthcare?" she replied, per the Times.

When informed of the incident by the reporter, in which McConnell froze mid-sentence before being led away by another senator, she indicated that she was unaware of the incident, which had happened the day before and was the subject of conversation among most other senators.

"I didn't know that. I didn't see that," she said.

An aide then jumped in to note that he hadn't briefed Feinstein on the incident, and that it had happened "when there were some votes happening."

"Well, I wish him well," Feinstein then said. "He's a strong man and this is really when that kind of strength comes in. So: Say a prayer, cross my fingers, do it all."

Feinstein's confused response to McConnell's health care came the same day of a very public incident of her own, in which she began delivering a speech at a hearing when she was simply supposed to say "aye."

The two health incidents — afflicting the oldest and fourth-oldest members of the Senate — underscored once again the gerontocratic nature of much of America's political leadership, which is driven in part by the seniority system. Both Feinstein and McConnell have taken extended absences from the Senate this year in relation to their respective health issues.

After McConnell's incident this week, multiple outlets reported that he's suffered numerous falls this year, along with an already-known fall at a Washington event in March that left the Kentucky Republican with a concussion.

And Feinstein fell ill with a shingles infection in February, leading to a nearly three-month-long absence that left the senator greatly diminished and fueled growing calls from Democrats for her resignation.