Sen. Byrd Released From Hospital

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Congress

(AP)

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd has been released from the hospital, the Associated Press is reporting. The 91-year-old Democrat had been hospitalized after a fall that resulted from standing up too quickly.

Byrd was in the hospital for two days after doctors discovered that he had an elevated white-blood cell count and worried about a possible infection. The Democrat, who holds the record for longest Senate tenure, was hospitalized over the summer with a staph infection and has been absent from the Senate for most of the year.

First elected in 1958, Byrd is the president pro tempore of the Senate, which puts him third in line in presidential succession. His office said he will take antibiotics and recuperate at home before returning to the chamber.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by stuart-johns September 24, 2009 7:24 PM EDT: I'll tell ya, he looks good for 91!; Reply to this comment


by velma179 September 24, 2009 5:48 PM EDT: I send grace and healing to Senator Byrd.

First for his health... and then for ours.; Reply to this comment