Republican senators were alarmed and relieved when they learned that their colleague Sen. Joni Ernst had choked during a party lunch on Thursday and was rescued by Sen. Rand Paul, who gave her the Heimlich maneuver.

Ernst appeared to be making jokes about the experience on social media, tweeting, “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks @randpaul!”

“I didn’t actually see it,” said Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas. “We’ve had that happen one other time to one of our members. It’s kind of scary.”

Thank God. We almost had a tragedy. Imagine losing two American heroes in one day.

Thank you for your service, Mr. Paul.