WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spent much of Friday in a hospital while suffering from exhaustion. He went home after doctors cleared him to return to work, his spokesman said.
“Early this morning, Senator Reid was not feeling well and as a precaution decided to go to the hospital. Tests have been conducted and everything is normal. He is alert, resting and feeling better,” said Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson.
Reid, 74, was expected to miss the final series of Senate votes for the year, after a stretch of long days as the Senate wrapped up its business.
The Senate’s final week has been arduous, as the chamber slogged through votes on nominations and a defense bill while Republicans made use of their ability to slow things down – partly as a response to Democrats’ decision to invoke the “nuclear option” to change a precedent in how nominees get confirmed.
The Nevada Democrat plans to seek reelection in 2016.
On Wednesday, he told Roll Call he planned to stick it out as party leader despite successors waiting in the wings. “I don’t want to do it more than eight more years,” he said.
Asked about Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-Wash.) recent efforts to negotiate a budget and whether that puts her in contention to be leader, Reid quipped, “If I drop dead? I don’t know.”
“I mean, I will someday. It’s just a question of if I do it while I’m here,” he added.
On Friday night, the senator’s office released a statement saying he had returned home.
“Senator Reid has been released from the hospital and is back at home with his wife, Landra. As previously stated, he went to the hospital as a precaution. The doctors diagnosed him as exhausted, not anything more serious, and have cleared him to go back to work. He spent today resting, talking to family, friends and colleagues, reading the news and discussing Senate business. He appreciates the kind words and thoughts sent by so many, thanks the doctors at George Washington University Hospital for the excellent care he received, and wishes everyone a Happy Holidays,” the statement said.
With AP