Sen. Patrick Leahy, set to preside over Trump impeachment, returns home after brief hospitalization

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat set to preside over the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, has returned home after being taken to a Washington hospital for evaluation Tuesday out of an abundance of caution, his spokesman said.

“The Capitol Physician suggested that Senator Leahy go to George Washington University Hospital this evening for observation, out of an abundance of caution,” his spokesman David Carle said in a written statement. “After getting test results back, and after a thorough examination, Senator Leahy now is home. He looks forward to getting back to work. Patrick and Marcelle deeply appreciate the well wishes they have received tonight.”

Leahy, 80, is the president pro tempore of the Senate, which makes him responsible for presiding over that chamber in the absence of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Leahy’s status in the Senate also puts him third in line in the order of presidential succession, after Harris and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The House impeached Trump earlier this month for inciting the riot by his supporters at the Capitol complex on Jan. 6. Thousands of members of a mob invaded the halls of Congress, smashing windows and rifling through offices.

Five people, including a Capitol police office, died as a result of the riot.

The mob disrupted a joint session of Congress, which was confirming the election of Joe Biden as president.