Senator Presiding Over Impeachment Trial Taken to Hospital

Patrick Leahy undergoes tests after feeling ill, then heads home
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2021 11:02 PM CST
Updated Jan 26, 2021 11:04 PM CST
Leahy Back Home After Hospital Trip
Sen. Patrick Leahy waits Monday in his Capitol office for the article of impeachment against former President Trump to be delivered.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Patrick Leahy, who's presiding over the impeachment trial of former President Trump, was taken to a hospital Tuesday evening after saying he didn't feel well. After an evaluation, including tests, Leahy went home, the Hill reports. The Capitol physician had conducted a brief exam of his own, then recommended that Leahy be checked out at a hospital, a spokesperson for the senator said. Leahy, 80, a Democrat from Vermont, is the Senate's president pro tempore and its longest-serving member, per the New York Times. He's third in line for the presidency and has been in the Senate since 1975. The senator has had both coronavirus vaccine shots.

Leahy was sworn in to preside over the impeachment trial hours before going to the hospital, a role that Chief Justice John Roberts passed on. The senator then swore in his colleagues. Leahy's aides didn't say whether the schedule for the trial will be affected or what Leahy's symptoms were. The impeachment proceeding effectively is on hold for two weeks, per CNN, while lawyers for both sides prepare and exchange briefs. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said, after speaking to Leahy's wife, Marcelle, who's a nurse, that he thought Leahy could be back in the Senate on Wednesday. "He looks forward to getting back to work," a spokesperson for Leahy said. (A vote Tuesday made conviction of Trump appear unlikely.)

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