WASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the no-nonsense former federal judge who took over the Justice Department after Alberto Gonzales resigned in disgrace, collapsed during a speech Thursday night and was rushed to a hospital after losing consciousness.

“The attorney general is conscious, conversant and alert,” Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said after doctors admitted Mulsasey to George Washington University Hospital for the night.

The 67-year-old Mukasey was delivering a speech at a Washington hotel when “he just started shaking and he collapsed,” said Associate Attorney General Kevin O’Connor. “They’re very concerned.”