Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul saved fellow GOP Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst from choking during the Senate luncheon.
According to reports, Ernst began to choke during the Republican conference lunch at the Capitol. That’s when Paul, who has practiced medicine as an eye doctor, performed the Heimlich maneuver on the Iowa senator, dislodging the food stuck in her throat.
PAUL SAVES THE DAY: A medical degree came in handy for Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday when he performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst. MORE: https://t.co/xb8Y9d4nWZ pic.twitter.com/ldlff3Ja5D
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 1, 2023
Paul’s heroic actions were praised online, even from his constituents who have had disagreements with him.
“God bless Rand Paul. I never thought I’d say that,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Rand Paul = HERO,” Sen. Mike Lee wrote on X. “Not all heroes wear capes. Not all senators can quote Mises and Hayek — while saving lives!”
The Heimlich maneuver involves a person wrapping both arms around a choking victim from behind, making a fist slightly above the victim’s navel, and thrusting upward sharply five times to eject an object that is obstructing the windpipe.
“The Heimlich maneuver is known as abdominal thrusts, because it involves thrusting into the abdominal area,” Cleveland Clinic’s description of the method. “It’s a quick life-saving method, but it should only be used on conscious people who can’t breathe on their own.”
Ernst choked on food that she had given to the GOP conference as part of a weekly tradition in which a different senator presents cuisine from their home state, as per The New York Times.
“Of course she choked. Look at the size of that steak sandwich. It’s bigger than Chuck’s head. And it has a bone in it. There’s something really wrong with Iowa. They’re off,” one netizen observed.
Wyoming Sen. Cynthia said that after the incident, there was a discussion about how to notice someone is choking and that senators can get training to perform the Heimlich in the Capitol.
“It was great that Rand was there,” Lummis said. “We talked about how you can get Heimlich training here, and other people talked about incidents that they’ve been involved in where someone required the Heimlich.”
Ernst, meanwhile, joked about the incident on social media, writing, “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. @RandPaul!”
