Congressman Says He Suffered Partial Seizure on House Floor

Rep. John Larson in an undated file photograph. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A congressman said on Feb. 11 that he froze on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives because he suffered a seizure.

“After a round of tests, it was determined that the cause of the brief pause in my speech was a complex partial seizure,” Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 79, said in a statement.

Larson was speaking on the House floor in Washington on Monday when he abruptly stopped speaking. He had just finished saying, “No one on the Republican side in the House and the Senate, who control both the House and Senate, is going to speak up.”

He then uttered a few unintelligible words before pausing for about 15 seconds. Larson then finished his speech.

Larson’s office on Monday had attributed the incident to an adverse reaction to a new medication.

Larson said in the new statement that he had a heart valve replacement 15 years ago.

“Sometimes, people with this condition can later develop symptoms such as the momentary change in speech or movement that was apparent yesterday,” he said. “The doctors have prescribed medication that, according to them, will greatly reduce the chance of this happening again. I will be able to resume an active schedule, including my duties as a Member of Congress, beginning tomorrow, when I plan to be present and voting on the House floor.”

Larson thanked Rear Adm. Brian P. Monahan, the House’s doctor, and said he was grateful for all the people who reached out and offered their support. He said he was looking forward to getting back to work.

Larson has represented Connecticut’s First Congressional District, which includes Connecticut’s capital Hartford, since 1999. He won reelection in 2024 with 63 percent of the vote.

The seizure came about a week after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 82, who has been in office since 1985, fell in Washington. He was later seen being moved around in a wheelchair.

“Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” a spokesperson for the senator, the former Senate Republican leader, told news outlets in a statement.

The spokesperson said the utilization of the wheelchair was “a precautionary measure.”

The average age of members of Congress has been rising in recent years, though that trend changed with the current, 119th Congress. The median age of House members is 57.5 years, down from 58.4, according to the Pew Research Center. The Senate’s new median age is 64.7 years, down from 65.3. The difference is due to newer members more often being younger.