U.S.

Thurmond Back In Senate

September 30, 2000 / 11:36 PM EDT / AP

Sen. Strom Thurmond, the oldest senator in American history, returned to work Monday after being hospitalized over the weekend for losing consciousness at a restaurant.

Thurmond was released from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington about 10:45 a.m. EDT, spokeswoman Genevieve Erny said. He was expected to immediately return to his routine of opening the daily Senate session, part of his duties as Senate president pro
tem, she said.

The 97-year-old lawmaker was hospitalized after losing consciousness while having lunch Saturday afternoon in a suburban Washington restaurant.

Thurmond, R-S.C., was with two friends in an Alexandria, Va., restaurant when he took ill and lay his head on the table.

After restaurant workers called an ambulance, Thurmond was taken first to an Alexandria hospital before transferring to Walter Reed.

Erny said the problem was likely dehydration.

Thurmond has been hospitalized several times in recent years for various problems and had prostate surgery in 1999.

In May, Thurmond spent three days in Walter Reed for what an aide said was a back problem. Earlier that month, he was twice hospitalized for upset stomach and fatigue.

The longest-serving senator and oldest member of Congress, Thurmond was first elected to the Senate in 1954. When he was re-elected to his eighth Senate term in November 1996, Thurmond said it would be his last campaign. His term expires in January 2003.