Top US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has suffered another alarming public “freeze”, just weeks after he worried supporters in a similar incident.

The 81-year-old was speaking to the media after an event in Northern Kentucky on Wednesday (US time) about his plans to run for re-election in 2026, when he abruptly froze up, staring into space and failing to respond to questions.

An aide quickly approached him, and Mr McConnell resumed speaking. But he needed the questions repeated, and was quickly escorted away.

“Did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” his aide asked.

Mr McConnell replied, but his answer was inaudible.

“All right, I’m sorry you all, we’re gonna need a minute,” the aide said, before ushering him away briefly. After about a 30 seconds, the pair returned.

“Please speak up,” his aide told journalists.

Mr McConnell’s voice as he replied to questions was shaky and quiet.

He said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, was “far and away the best candidate” for governor and declined to say whether he would support former president Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president before walking away with a staffer.

His staff said he would consult a doctor ahead of his next public event.

“Leader McConnell felt momentarily light-headed and paused during his press conference today,” Mr McConnell’s representative said.

After Wednesday’s incident, several of Mr McConnell’s colleagues said they had spoken to him, and he appeared well. Even President Joe Biden – who called Mr McConnell “a good friend” – said he would call the senior Republican.

Wednesday’s incident was eerily similar to one in the US Capitol on July 26, when Mr McConnell froze in the middle of a press conference. He was also led away then, before returning some minutes later.

After that incident, a McConnell aide said the senator had felt light-headed.

Two days later, a spokesperson said that Mr McConnell – the longest-serving Senate party leader in history – planned to remain in his post until the 2024 US election.

Mr McConnell was also sidelined from the Senate earlier this year after he tripped at a Washington DC dinner on March 8. He was admitted to hospital to be treated for concussion.

He also suffered a minor rib fracture and was later moved to a rehabilitation facility.

Mr McConnell returned to the Senate in April.

Many top figures in Washington DC are of advanced age, with Mr Biden running for re-election at 80 and the average age in the Senate above 64.

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, is 77.

Democratic US Senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, was sidelined for months this year after a bout of shingles that caused complications including encephalitis and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which can cause facial paralysis.

In November, 61 per cent of respondents to a US Reuters/Ipsos poll said they were very or somewhat concerned that members of Congress were too old to represent the public.

Criticism of ageing politicians most often comes from the opposite political party. But Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted the McConnell video on X, citing it as an example of “people who are not fit for office”.