OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The man who is third in line for the presidency, and a top Democrat, has been sent to the hospital at the advice of his doctor.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the longest serving senator in the history of the Senate, was sent to the hospital on Thursday, his office said.
“Senator Leahy was not feeling well and was taken to a Washington area hospital for tests, as a precaution. He had been at their residence in McLean, Virginia, at the time. At the recommendation of his doctors, he is expected to remain overnight for observation. As is our practice, we will offer updates as warranted,” it said, Fox News reported.
In November 2021 the senator said he would be retiring from the Senate.
“I am proud to be Vermont’s longest serving Senator because I know my time in the Senate has made a difference for Vermonters and often well beyond. I know I have been there for my state when I was needed most. I know I have taken our best ideas and helped them grow. I brought Vermont’s voice to the United States Senate and Vermont values across the world,” the senator said.
“So yes, I am proud to be Vermont’s longest serving Senator. While I will continue to serve Vermont, Marcelle and I have reached the conclusion that it is time to put down this gavel. It is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home,” he said.
“I will forever carry with me the enduring bond with my fellow Vermonters, whose common sense and goodness are what I strive to match as their representative. Thank you for being the inspiration and the motivation for all the good that has come from my work in the Senate. Rest assured our state and our nation will remain resilient and the next generation will ensure our democracy remains whole and thriving,” he said.
Last week former President Donald Trump celebrated the reported pending retirement of one of his Republican detractors in the Senate.
“Great news for the United States Senate, and our Country itself. Liddle’ Ben Sasse, the lightweight Senator from the great State of Nebraska, will be resigning,” he said on his Truth Social account.
“If he knew he was going to resign so early in his term, why did he run in the first place? But it’s still great news! The University of Florida will soon regret their decision to hire him as their President….” he said.
“We have enough weak and ineffective RINOs in our midst. I look forward to working with the terrific Republican Party of Nebraska to get a REAL Senator to represent the incredible People of that State, not another Fake RINO!” he said.
The senator did vote to impeach the former president during his first impeachment trial and during a campaign call with constituents in October 2020 he shredded him.
“The way he kisses dictators’ butts. I mean, the way he ignores the Uighurs, our literal concentration camps in Xinjiang. Right now, he hasn’t lifted a finger on behalf of the Hong-Kongers,” the senator said, The Washington Post reported.
“The United States now regularly sells out our allies under his leadership, the way he treats women, spends like a drunken sailor,” he said. “The ways I criticize President Obama for that kind of spending; I’ve criticized President Trump for as well. He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He’s flirted with white supremacists.”
On Thursday Politico reported that Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who is not known to be a huge supporter of former President Donald Trump, will accept a job as a president of the University of Florida in the near future.
“The Nebraska governor would then appoint a replacement for Sasse under state law. The second-term Sasse made a name for himself as a consistent Trump critic in Congress as well as a reliable conservative vote,” Politico reported.
In May, Trump criticized Sasse and said it was a mistake to endorse him. “He’s bad news, Ben Sasse,” Trump said during a tele-rally. “He begged for my endorsement, the day after he started hitting me and we hit much harder than he knows how to hit.”
