Senate is now 50-49 and not in the democrats favor.
A US senator was resting in hospital Wednesday after suffering a stroke from which he is expected to recover fully.
www.digitaljournal.com
Ben Ray Lujan ( D ) NM, underwent brain surgery to relieve swelling late last week and remains hospitalized, his office said, with no clear timetable for how long he will be sidelined.
As he recovers, Democrats effectively lose their advantage in the Senate, which was split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris wielding the tie-breaking vote.
Unlike in the House, senators must vote in person.
Party leaders fear that advancing White House priorities such as a stalled social spending bill and confirming a Supreme Court justice on a party-line vote may now prove complicated.
A brain bleed in 2006 took Democrat Tim Johnson out of Senate action for around nine months, while Republican Mark Kirk’s stroke in 2012 laid him low for a full year.