(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Yet another member of Congress appeared to freeze during a press conference protesting President Donald Trump, mere months after suffering a “complex partial seizure” on the House Floor.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., temporarily lost his ability to speak on Friday morning while addressing reporters in Hartford, Connecticut, prompting a colleague to step in.
“The majority party in the Senate and in the House, thus far has gone along with [Musk]. Except on Tuesday, all of a sudden, they found out because there was a member of Congress who was brave enough to stand up and fight on behalf of all women, but also her own—and because and uh,” Larson said before stumbling over his own word.
“Because… And ah… oh…” he added, unable to get the word out. At one point, Larson awkwardly lifted his hand and made a quacking gesture with his finger near the microphone.
The silence and awkward gesture prompted Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., to step into the podium to field further questions.
Larson, a 76-year-old Democrat, suffered a similar episode in February 2025—just weeks after being sworn into his 14th term. He was first elected in 1999 after nearly a decade in the Connecticut State Senate.
NEW: Democrat Rep. John Larson has a medical episode during a speech, freezes up for nearly a minute after blasting republicans for not “speaking up.”
“Don't worry. No one on the Republican side who controls both the House and Senate is going to speak up…”
Larson has been in… pic.twitter.com/6jbGfHQNI7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 11, 2025
His office said he suffered a “complex partial seizure” on Feb. 10, 2025, while delivering remarks from the House floor, abruptly cutting his speech short.
“After a round of tests, it was determined that the cause of the brief pause in my speech was a complex partial seizure,” Larson claimed.
He added, “Fifteen years ago, I had a heart valve replacement due to a variation in the shape of my aortic valve that I was born with. Sometimes, people with this condition can later develop symptoms such as the momentary change in speech or movement that was apparent yesterday.”
Larson’s freeze comes amid widespread calls for term limits in the federal government. Several politicians—including former President Joe Biden, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell—have experienced health scares during their terms.
Biden, 81, was forced out of the 2024 presidential race by his own colleagues after a disastrous debate performance with now-President Donald Trump.
Pelosi, 85, suffered a brutal fall during an official trip to Luxembourg. She underwent hip replacement surgery and has since been seen limping in Congress with a walker.
McConnell, 83, has experienced multiple falls and on-air freezes in recent years. Earlier this year, video captured him needing assistance to enter a car after being in a wheelchair.
Other instances involved the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was visibly fragile while in her last term, and former Rep. Kay Granger, who struggles with dementia and withdrew from congressional duties without resignation.
