'I'm fine,' Mitch McConnell says after falling silent during press conference

July 26 (UPI) -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell exhibited troubling behavior in the middle of a news conference Wednesday but later said he was fine when asked about his health.

McConnell, 81, was giving a typical weekly briefing when he suddenly froze and went silent, then walked away, as seen in video footage from MSBC and other news outlets.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., approached McConnell and exchanged a couple words with him before the pair walked away with Barrasso's hands gripping McConnell's arms.

"Hey, Mitch, anything else you want to say? Or should we just go back to your office? Do you want to say anything else to the press?" Barrasso had said, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa appeared to make the sign of the cross, indicating she was praying for McConnell.

McConnell returned to the press conference a few minutes later.

"I'm fine," McConnell said when he was asked by reporters about his health.

An aide for McConnell told news outlets that the top Senate Republican "felt lightheaded" and was "sharp" when he returned for a question-and-answer session.

The incident came after McConnell was moved to a rehabilitation center in March after being released from a hospital for treatment after a fall.

McConnell had suffered a broken rib and a concussion after he tripped at a dinner event in the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C. The lawmaker is among the oldest politicians in office and is the 13th longest-serving senator in history with 38 years in office.

In 2019, McConnell fractured his shoulder in a fall at his home in Kentucky.