Senator Patrick Leahy was hospitalized just hours after being sworn in to preside over President Donald Trump's second impeachment.
Senator Leahy was rushed to a local hospital
Late Tuesday night, Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy was rushed to the hospital after being sworn to preside Trump's impeachment trial. Senator Leahy is the president pro tempore of the Senate and a third in line to become president after Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Leahy, 80, the most senior Democratic Senator, took up his role in presiding as the other senators were sworn in as the court of impeachment.
On Tuesday evening, the Senator was in the Capitol office and was not feeling well. His spokesman David Carle told ABC News that the Attending Physician examined Leahy in the Capitol.
Carle added that out of the abundance of caution, the Capitol Physician suggested that Senator Patrick Leahy be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now being evaluated.
John Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice, presided over former President Trump's first impeachment. However, it was reported that he did not want to preside again for President Trump's first impeachment.
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According to Daily Mail, Senator Leahy helps ensure the party's majority in the 50-50 Senate like every other Senate, aside from his mostly ceremonial role at the trial. Since Democrats have the control in the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties as Senate president. Harris could also provide the party with effective management.
Hours after news came out that 45 Republicans voted on a procedural motion of former President Trump's trial after leaving office unconstitutionally, Leahy's hospitalization reports spread. Republican voters saw a sign that the effort to impeach Trump faces steep obstacles, as per Mail. To convict Trump, seventeen Republicans would need to join 50 Democrats.
Tuesday's impeachment trial was mostly ceremonial, setting up a crucial trial to start on February 9. Meanwhile, Democratic managers and Trump's lawyers are preparing briefs they could file on the charge of incitement of insurrection linked to the January 6 Capitol riot.
Who is Senator Patrick Leahy?
Senator Patrick Leahy has previously chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and is now the top Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Leahy was first elected in 1974, serving for decades with President Joe Biden when they were in the Senate.
The Senator is an avid amateur photographer who snapped photos in the Capitol before Trump's second impeachment. The Senate Majority Whip Senator Richard Durbin said Marcelle Pomerleau, Leahy's wife, and a nurse, was with the Senator at the hospital.
Durbin told CNN that rushing Leahy in a local hospital was 'just an abundance of caution.' Marcell said things would go well, so they expect Leahy to be back tomorrow, as per Durbin.
According to Business Insider, Senator Leahy is the current longest-serving Senator in the U.S., who serves as president pro tempore or the one to oversee the Senate in the absence of the vice president.
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