Rand Paul gives Heimlich to Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst while she was choking during lunch

Rachel Looker, USA TODAY
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul works a campaign stop for state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in Jeffersontown, Ky., on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul works a campaign stop for state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in Jeffersontown, Ky., on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.

WASHINGTON − Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., used the Heimlich maneuver to save fellow Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa from choking at a Senate luncheon onThursday.

Ernst confirmed the news in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and thanked Paul. The Iowa lawmaker joked, "Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats."

Paul, a medical doctor and an ophthalmologist, was quickly lauded by his Republican colleagues, like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who called Paul a hero.

"Not all senators can quote Mises and Hayek — while saving lives!" Lee wrote on X, referencing two Austrian economists.

The incident was first reported by Politico.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley posted photos earlier in the afternoon posing with Ernst and holding plates of food at the lunch.

"Yummm, an Iowa chop from Sen. Ernst & the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association for lunch," he wrote.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks to reporters after a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol October 24, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks to reporters after a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol October 24, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sen. Joni Ernst gets Heimlich from KY Sen. Rand Paul at Senate lunch

Advertisement