Sen. Rand Paul performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst who was choking at a luncheon on Nov. 30, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/TNS, left, and Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
(Tribune News Service) — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst expressed gratitude toward Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul after he performed the Heimlich maneuver on her during a Republican conference lunch at the Capitol when she began choking on Thursday.
“Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. @RandPaul!” Ernst joked on X after the incident.
She later blamed the incident on food, particularly the Iowa-themed meal she brought for the GOP conference that featured substantial portions of pork chops and beef sandwiches, NBC News reported.
Attendees at the lunch including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, commended Paul’s swift action.
“God bless Rand Paul. I never thought I’d say that,” said Graham, who often disagrees with Paul on political issues.
Paul, who previously practiced medicine as an eye doctor, joined Ernst after the incident to tell colleagues about how to respond to choking incidents.
“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,” said Sen. Lummis.
This event evoked a 2018 incident in which when West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin performed the Heimlich on Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a fellow Democrat, during a lunch.
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