Mitch McConnell abruptly stops speaking in the middle of a press conference before being whisked away

• Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped speaking at the beginning of a press conference on Wednesday.
• He was quickly whisked away from the podium by other senators and aides.

At the beginning of Senate Republicans' weekly press conference on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped speaking, and was eventually escorted away by other senators and an aide.

He began his remarks by saying that the Senate was "on a path to finishing" consideration of the annual defense authorization bill, noting that there had "been good bipartisan cooperation, and a string of..." before trailing off and staring straight ahead for several seconds.

"Are you good, Mitch?" Sen. Joni Ernst asked McConnell.

"Anything else you want to say, or should we just go back to your office?" asked Sen. John Barrasso, who then helped McConnell off to the side as Sen. John Thune, the caucus whip, began making remarks.

McConnell, 81, later returned to the podium and took questions from reporters, where he was asked by CNN's Manu Raju to address the incident — and whether it had anything to do with a concussion he suffered earlier this year after falling at an event in Washington.

"I'm fine," McConnell tersely replied, answering in the affirmative when asked if he was able to fully do his job.

Reached for comment, an aide to the Kentucky senator said that McConnell stepped away because he "felt light headed," but argued that he was "sharp" when he returned to take questions.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, McConnell said President Joe Biden called to check on him after the incident.

"The President called to check up on me and I told him I got sandbagged," McConnell said, referring to when Biden tripped and fell over a small sandbag onstage at the Air Force graduation earlier this year.

McConnell ignored specific questions from reporters inquiring about what exactly happened to him when he froze, insisting once again, "I'm fine."

July 26, 2023: This story has been updated with McConnell's comments to reporters later Wednesday evening.