Sen. Patrick Leahy, 82, Recovering After Hip Replacement Surgery
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Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Washington Post via AP
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy is "comfortably recovering" at a Washington-area hospital after undergoing a successful hip replacement surgery on Thursday afternoon, his office said in a statement.
The 82-year-old Democrat — who, as president pro tempore of the Senate, is third in line for the U.S. presidency — fell at his home in McLean, Virginia on Wednesday night and broke his hip. Doctors determined the best course of action would be for Leahy to undergo surgery to repair the hip as soon as possible.
"He is expected to begin a physical therapy regimen after sufficient healing," his office added Thursday — noting the therapy would allow Sen. Leahy and his wife, Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, "to begin taking their daily long walks together again."
"Patrick and Marcelle are overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of support, and they are deeply grateful for all of the kind and encouraging messages they have received," the office added.
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Sen. Leahy is currently the longest-serving sitting senator, and announced in November 2021 that he will not be seek reelection in the fall. The Democrat will have served in the Senate for 48 years by the time his term expires in January 2023.
The politician the last of the so-called "Watergate babies" — the surge of congressional Democrats elected in 1974 after President Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment.
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With one blind eye, Sen. Leahy "has had a lifelong struggle with reduced depth perception," his office said on Thursday. "He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years, but this one finally caught up with him."
Back in January 2020, Sen. Leahy was hospitalized hours after he began presiding over the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. At the time, he did not feel well and was sent to the hospital out of an abundance of caution, but was sent home after his examination.
