Joni Ernst says Rand Paul saved her from choking during a Republican lunch by using the Heimlich maneuver

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa confirmed Thursday that Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky used the Heimlich maneuver to save her from choking at a Republican luncheon.

Ernst posted about the incident on her social media account where she used the occasion to mock Democrats.

"Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. @RandPaul!" she wrote.

Ironically, she had choked on food from Iowa as the Republicans were practicing a tradition where one senator brings food traditionally from their state.

“It was Iowa day, lots of big pork chops and beef sandwiches,” said Republican Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, who added that he had not seen Paul perform the maneuver on his colleague.

Others said they were thankful that Paul, who is an eye doctor, had been there to help Ernst.

“It’s a good thing he did. God bless Rand Paul. I never thought I’d say that," joked Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

“It was great that Rand was there," replied Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.

Lummis went on to say that the two senators stood up and spoke to the group about the importance of being trained to help people who are 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 added.

Ernst is 53 years old and in her second term at the U.S. Senate.

She is not the first senator to have needed help from a colleague over choking.

In 2018, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia used the Heimlich maneuver to help his colleague Clare McCaskill, who was a senator representing Missouri at the time. He broke one of her ribs during that incident.

Here's more about the choking incident:

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