Rand Paul performs Heimlich maneuver on Joni Ernst at GOP Senate lunch

WNKY Staff,

(NBC) – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) used the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) at a Republican conference lunch Thursday, according to a tweet by the senator.

“Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr.

@RandPaul!” Ernst stated in the tweet.

But it wasn’t woke policies Ernst was choking on. It was actually the meal she had provided to the GOP conference as part of a weekly tradition when a different senator brings food from their home state.

“It was Iowa day, lots of big pork chops and beef sandwiches,” senate minority whip John Thune (R-KY) said after the lunch, noting he didn’t see the incident himself.

Ernst was seen walking away from the lunch after it had concluded but wasn’t asked about the incident since it had yet to come to light before she left.

Republicans left the lunch expressing thanks for Paul’s actions, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) saying, “It’s a good thing he did, God bless Rand Paul, I never thought I’d say that.”

“It was great that Rand was there,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said.

Lummis said that after the incident, the two senators stood up and explained what had happened before discussing the importance of knowing what to do when someone is choking.

“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,” Lummis said.

Ernst is not the first senator to need the Heimlich during lunch. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) once broke Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) rib while performing the Heimlich in 2018.

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