Washington – (AFP):
A spokesman for US Senator Patrick Leahy said that the 80-year-old Democratic Senator, in charge of presiding over the parliamentary trial of former President Donald Trump, returned home after being transferred to hospital after feeling ill.
“Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office this evening and he felt unwell. The Capitol doctor examined him. In a precautionary measure, he recommended that he be taken to a local hospital to be placed under surveillance,” said spokesman David Carle.
Prior to his transfer to the hospital, Leahy presided at the Capitol, in a tired voice, the swearing-in ceremony for senators, as members of the jury that will try Trump from February 9th.
The Senate is divided equally between Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats need the votes of all 50 of their members, including Leahy, as well as the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is constitutionally the chair of the Senate, to tilt the vote in the House in their favor.
Last week, Leahy assumed the position of “interim president” of the Senate, being the oldest member of the Democratic majority. As the speaker of the House, he must preside over Trump’s trial, the first president in US history to be tried after leaving the White House.
To convict the former president, Democrats need 17 Republican senators to join them.