The minority leader and Kentucky Republican senator Mitch McConnell is receiving treatment at a local hospital after falling at a hotel in Washington on Wednesday evening and suffering a concussion.

According to The New York Times, Mr McConnell’s spokesperson, David Popp, confirmed the situation in a statement on Thursday, revealing that the U.S. legislator will be in the hospital for a few days.

“Leader McConnell tripped at a dinner event Wednesday evening and has been admitted to the hospital and is being treated for a concussion,” a statement by Mr Popp said. “He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment.”

Others with knowledge of the incident claimed the mishap happened during a charity dinner held at the old Trump hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol.

Mr McConnell was transported to George Washington University Hospital by ambulance just after 9:00 p.m. after his fall.

Before the accident on Wednesday, Mr McConnell had been at the Capitol until late at night, working to win a triumph for the Republicans by getting a resounding Senate vote to reject a new District of Columbia criminal code that decreases mandatory minimum sentences for some severe offences.

However, the length of Mr McConnell’s absence from the Senate remains unknown.