Democrat senator’s illness won’t affect SCOTUS nominee consideration, Schumer says

February 3, 2022:

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A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the upcoming prolonged absence of Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., will not affect the Senate’s schedule for confirming President Biden’s pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.

Luján, 49, suffered a stroke last week and remains hospitalized but is expected make a full recovery, his office announced Tuesday. Aides in Luján’s office further explained that his recovery will keep him out of work from four to six weeks barring complications, according to The Hill.

“Sen. Luján’s absence is not expected to affect the Senate’s timeline for moving a SCOTUS nominee,” a spokesperson at Schumer’s office said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujàn, D-N.M., walks in the Senate Subway of the Capitol during a vote on Dec. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Luján’s illness underscores the Democrats’ fragile majority in the Senate. Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and John Hoeven of North Dakota are also absent after coming down with COVID-19, but they are expected to return to work next week.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, departs after the Republican Conference held leadership elections, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

After experiencing dizziness and fatigue on Thursday, Luján checked himself into a local hospital and was later transferred to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, the senator’s chief of staff Carlos Sanchez said in a statement.

SEN. BEN RAY LUJAN OF NEW MEXICO HOSPITALIZED AFTER STROKE

“Senator Luján was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance. As part of his treatment plan, he subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling,” said Sanchez.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., speaks to reporters as he arrives to the Senate for a series of votes in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Decompressive surgery involves removing a part of the skull to allow a swelling brain to expand.

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“Senator Luján looks forward to getting back to work for the people of New Mexico. At this time, he and his family would appreciate their privacy, and ask for your continued prayers and well wishes,” Sanchez said.

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