Rep. Virginia Foxx, 81, Slips and Falls on First Day of New Congress

2 days ago 6

North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx fell while walking down the marble staircase outside the House chamber, her communications team tells Newsweek.

The Context

Foxx "seems to be okay," her communications director, Alex Ives, told Newsweek. The Republican representative was walking over to speak to her family in the gallery of the House chamber when the incident occurred.

Foxx, 81, is the most recent elderly lawmaker to have hurt herself while on the job. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, was admitted to a hospital after sustaining a hip injury in Luxembourg. She required surgery and was seen without her signature stilettos when the House of Representatives reconvened Friday.

Just a few days before Pelosi's accident, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, fell and sprained his wrist after a Senate Republican lunch on Capitol Hill.

What To Know

Ives told Newsweek that medical professionals looked after Foxx.

"Rep. Foxx slipped while walking down the marble staircase outside the House chamber after walking up to talk to her family in the gallery. After being helped to her feet, and looked over by medical personnel, she proceeded on her own to the Attending Physician's office to get treated for a few individual cuts," Ives said. "Everything seems to be okay."

Foxx, along with the other members of the House of Representatives, were on the Hill on Friday for the first day of the 119th Congress. The House reelected Speaker Mike Johnson for a second term. Foxx was one of the members chosen to tally the votes.

About Virginia Foxx

Foxx has represented North Carolina's fifth congressional district since 2005. She served as secretary of the House Republican Conference from 2013 to 2017. She served as the House Committee on Education and Labor chair from 2017 to 2019 and again since 2023.

During her time in office, Foxx was one of the 11 members of Congress to vote against the $51 billion aid package to victims of Hurricane Katrina. She also introduced the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act in 2017.

She later voted against both articles of impeachment in 2019 for former President Donald Trump, with her also being one of the 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021.

Foxx is an opponent of the Affordable Care Act, saying that "we have more to fear from the potential of the Affordable Health Care for America Act passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country." In 2022, Foxx voted against the Respect for Marriage Act to codify same-sex and interracial marriage rights federally.

What People Are Saying

ABC reporter John Parkinson, on X: "A bleeding Rep. Virginia Foxx is currently receiving medical attention - holding her nose as she receives aid - appears to have fallen down marble stairs on West side of House. Lots of blood but officer tells me she's okay as press is cleared from area. She is conscious/ talking."

Journalist Ken Klippenstein, on X: "Breaking: 81 year old congresswoman Virginia Foxx has reportedly fallen down the stairs of the House resulting in 'lots of blood'"